Essay Comparing Dickinson And Walt Whitman
COMPARISON BETWEEN WALT WHITMAN AND EMILY DICKINSON’S POETRY
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman came from different religions, beliefs and even from different economic status, however both were considered as two of the most influential writers in American poetry. The great American poet Emily Dickinson was educated in an upper-class Puritan family with a strict sense of religion while Whitman was born in a working-class family that held beliefs related to Quakers. It does not matter where writers come from or which are their beliefs, but something that it is necessary to be a good writer is wit, knowledge and passion for writing. Even Dickinson and Whitman were different in some aspects of their lifestyle, they broke with the traditional …show more content…
writing styles, being innovative, writing about new themes that had never been treated before.
Even though, Emily Dickinson used short and simple lines to write her poems and express her ideas or complex messages and Walt Whitman used more complex language, they shared some aspects in their poems. Although they have written about the same topic, they did not write about it in the same way. Some of the topics that these authors shared in their works are: God related with religion, death and nature but neither of them with the same point of view. They treated the same topics, but perhaps the way to focus on it was so different because of their different lifestyles and beliefs.
As it was mentioned above, one important topic to compare of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman is God and their point of view about religion. Through the different kind of education that they have received, their thoughts about God and religion are so different. Nevertheless, both challenges in their poetry the traditional conception of the Christian God. Whitman based his philosophy more in Transcendentalism while Dickinson questioned the Calvinistic, Emersonian optimism and Transcendentalism beliefs. Both authors have different thoughts on God treatment.
In the Christian sense, God is the creator of the world and he is a higher being, everything is subordinate to God. Another topic of Christian thought is the superiority of the soul over the body.
Emily Dickinson questioned the Christian view of God, affirming that God is comparable with human consciousness. In one of her poems she uses “The Brain” as a metaphor for human understanding and consciousness. Thus, it means that the human mind it is able to comprehend so many things as: the life, the universe, the world and even to comprehend itself. To assert it she wrote stanzas like these:
“The Brain—is wider than the Sky—” (88 Norton)
“The Brain is deeper than the sea—” (88 Norton)
“The Brain is just the weight of God—” (88 Norton)
On the contrary, Whitman questioned the superiority of the soul over the body in one of his poems, creating equivalence between these two topics, saying:
“I have said that the soul is not more than the body,
And I have said that the body is not more than the soul” (69 Whitman).
Then, after doing this equivalence between the soul and the body, he dethrones God. With this stanza he mainly challenges the Christian God, emphasizing the importance of the individual and contradicting the Christian thoughts.
“And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one’s self is” (69 Whitman)
Therefore, Dickinson broke with traditional Christian religious beliefs, affirming that human consciousness was comparable to God while Whitman creates equalities between God and Man, body and soul.
Looking at God from Emily Dickinson’s point of view, she questioned God’s existence in many of her poems and used theological vocabulary in an unusual way. Even apparently in one of her poems she made fun of God:
"I never spoke with God Nor visited in Heaven- Yet certain am I of the spot As if the Checks were given-" (Leiter 113)
However, in another of her poems she seems sure of God’s existence, emphasizing her beliefs saying:
I know that He exists.
Somewhere – in silence –
He has hid his rare life
From our gross eyes.
(Leiter 378)
As Dickinson, Walt Whitman challenged the traditional idea of religion, collapsing distinctions between the secular and the spiritual. Whitman wrote about God, positioning himself in God’s place. In some of his poems he makes a comparison between himself and Jesus. Through his constant question about traditional beliefs thought that spirituality is not found in some higher being, it is found in each of us.
The treatment of death by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman is clearly different. Dickinson is aware that death is something natural and she must not suffer for it while Whitman is challenging death in his poems as something malefic.
On the one hand, Dickinson’s fixation on death is based by her religious beliefs. Her treatment of death is presented as something that she accepts and which is also unavoidable; it is something that happens to everyone.
“Because I could not stop for Death” (Norton 52)
She seems not interested in discussing this subject, she just accept the death as a natural fact that every human being will live and she does not believe that death is something created particularly for her. In this case, death is just an inevitable experience that Emily Dickinson sees more pleasant than unpleasant experience. She has not the feeling to fight against death, she just thinks that die is being carried away by a natural
event.
On the other hand, Walt Whitman presents the topic of death almost as a unique thing that only happens to him and as it was personalized. He feels as if death was created personally for him and he must fight against it. Even in “Song of Myself” he addresses death as if he had anything with it. “And as to you Death, and you bitter hug of mortality, it is idle to try to alarm me” (Whitman 70)
In this sentence is like he feels that death has power over him and that death could do all he wishes. He sees death as an unpleasant experience or as something that he should be afraid of it. Whitman is like trying to challenge the death saying that he is not frightened of it. He was not afraid of death, neither intimidated nor resigned. Nevertheless, there are some lines in the poem that show the other part of death, the good part or pleasant things that could come from death.
“And as to you Corpse I think you are good manure, but that does not offend me” (Whitman 70).
“I smell the white roses sweet-scented and growing, I reach to the leafy lips, I reach to the polish’d breasts of melons” (Whitman 70)
But, he does not accept at all the death and forget the fight that he has with death, for this reason put up a fight to rise above the unavoidable.
“Toss to the moaning gibberish of the dry limbs. I ascend from the moon, I ascend from the night, I perceive that the ghastly glimmer is noonday sunbeams reflected, And debouch to the steady and central from the offspring great or small.” (Whitman70)
Both poets found in the treatment of death a salvation, a relief or an escape, as a better place. At first appearance Whitman seems to less convince than Dickinson that death could be the salvation, being a better place. But, when you push out into his poetry you can see his real vision. Even at first time in “Song of Myself” by Whitman, he seems as he is challenging death but when the poem progresses the author changes his opinion about death. Instead Emily Dickinson treated this topic in a completely different way and maintains the same opinion about what is death in the entire poem. She is not frightened of death she is aware that is something that any human being will suffer once in their life.
Both poets shared the love for nature, but they have different points of view. In the treatment of this topic Whitman is a more brotherhood than Dickinson. There are lines in Whitman’s poems that he expresses his relation with nature referring to the bird as his brother, giving to nature an important sense and showing the close relationship with it. "But fuse the song of my dusky demon and brother,
That he sang to me in the moonlight on Paumanok 's gray beach," (Norton 25)
When he referred to the bird as his brother, he is expressing the deep connection with nature. Emily Dickinson has never reached the comfort level that Whitman established in his poems. The difference is that Dickinson expresses the connection with nature with her knowledge of nature’s creatures, not feeling the real connection as Whitman feel, she is like an observer. It could be seen in this stanza by Whitman:
"Alone far in the wilds and mountains I hunt,
Wandering amazed at my own lightness and glee,
In the late afternoon choosing a safe spot to pass the night,
Kindling a fire and broiling the fresh-kill 'd game,
Falling asleep on the gather 'd leaves with my dog and gun by my side." (13 Whitman)
In Emily Dickinson’s nature poems is not so constant the own contact with nature as in Whitman’s poems is. In this stanza he is expressing as his own experiences in nature, spending the night outside with a campfire. These are certainly views of nature that Dickinson never has treated in this way in their poetry.
The following stanza by Dickinson shows a clear comparison of nature’s treatment by both poets and sees how she wrote about nature.
"Several of Nature 's People I know, and they know me- I feel for them a transport Of cordiality." (90 Norton)
As stated above, the type of connection with nature that Emily Dickinson expresses in his poetry is more about the knowledge of nature’s creatures than his own experience in nature as Whitman expresses. In conclusion, Whitman would be the person who experiences nature from inside and in his own skin, however Dickinson was an observer, as if she was on the outside looking in.
In conclusion, even though Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman wrote about the same topics as God and religion, death and nature, the thoughts that they had about it were very different.
Firstly, in God’s treatment and religion both authors broke with the traditional Christian religious beliefs. Dickinson questioned God’s existence and also affirmed that human consciousness was comparable with God. She asserts it making a comparison with “The Brain” of the humans and God while Whitman questioned the superiority of the soul over the body. To question the superiority of the soul he creates equalities between body and soul, God and Man.
Secondly, the death is a main topic on the poems of these American authors, but also treated with a different point of view. Dickinson wrote about death as something that she accepts, because is something that happens to everybody. As she is aware of what her death, she does not feel the death as an unpleasant experience it is just a natural event that she should live duly, she was not afraid of it. On the contrary, Whitman thought that death was personally created for him and he must fight against it. He saw the death as an unpleasant experience or as something that he should be afraid of it. But, both poets have in common the treatment of death in some stanzas, as a salvation, a relief or an escape, as if death was a better place.
Even though, they had different points of view on nature, they share the love for it. They have a different connection with nature, inasmuch as Emily Dickinson expresses in his poetry more about the knowledge of nature’s creatures than his own experience in nature. She is as a mere observer of nature and wrote about it. Instead, Walt Whitman expressed his own experiences in nature, feeling nature from inside and describing his experiences lived on his own skin.
Despite Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman had very different points of view about the same topics, they came from different social status and were educated on different religions. Finally, they were considered two of the most important American poets of history. Does not matter which are their beliefs or their points of view, Dickinson and Whitman reach its breaking with the traditional writing styles, being innovative and writing about new themes that had never been treated before. But, certainly they succeeded by his passion for writing.
Length: 2087 words
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BAYM, Nina. FRANKLIN, Wayne. GURA, Philip F. KRUPAT, Arnold. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Seventh Edition
FOLSOM, Ed. PRICE, Kenneth M. 2005. Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work
LEITER, Sharon. 2007. Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work
WHITMAN, Walt. 2008. Leaves of Grass: The Death Bed Edition
WHITMAN, Walt. 2006. Song of Myself
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman came from different religions, beliefs and even from different economic status, however both were considered as two of the most influential writers in American poetry. The great American poet Emily Dickinson was educated in an upper-class Puritan family with a strict sense of religion while Whitman was born in a working-class family that held beliefs related to Quakers. It does not matter where writers come from or which are their beliefs, but something that it is necessary to be a good writer is wit, knowledge and passion for writing. Even Dickinson and Whitman were different in some aspects of their lifestyle, they broke with the traditional …show more content…
writing styles, being innovative, writing about new themes that had never been treated before.
Even though, Emily Dickinson used short and simple lines to write her poems and express her ideas or complex messages and Walt Whitman used more complex language, they shared some aspects in their poems. Although they have written about the same topic, they did not write about it in the same way. Some of the topics that these authors shared in their works are: God related with religion, death and nature but neither of them with the same point of view. They treated the same topics, but perhaps the way to focus on it was so different because of their different lifestyles and beliefs.
As it was mentioned above, one important topic to compare of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman is God and their point of view about religion. Through the different kind of education that they have received, their thoughts about God and religion are so different. Nevertheless, both challenges in their poetry the traditional conception of the Christian God. Whitman based his philosophy more in Transcendentalism while Dickinson questioned the Calvinistic, Emersonian optimism and Transcendentalism beliefs. Both authors have different thoughts on God treatment.
In the Christian sense, God is the creator of the world and he is a higher being, everything is subordinate to God. Another topic of Christian thought is the superiority of the soul over the body.
Emily Dickinson questioned the Christian view of God, affirming that God is comparable with human consciousness. In one of her poems she uses “The Brain” as a metaphor for human understanding and consciousness. Thus, it means that the human mind it is able to comprehend so many things as: the life, the universe, the world and even to comprehend itself. To assert it she wrote stanzas like these:
“The Brain—is wider than the Sky—” (88 Norton)
“The Brain is deeper than the sea—” (88 Norton)
“The Brain is just the weight of God—” (88 Norton)
On the contrary, Whitman questioned the superiority of the soul over the body in one of his poems, creating equivalence between these two topics, saying:
“I have said that the soul is not more than the body,
And I have said that the body is not more than the soul” (69 Whitman).
Then, after doing this equivalence between the soul and the body, he dethrones God. With this stanza he mainly challenges the Christian God, emphasizing the importance of the individual and contradicting the Christian thoughts.
“And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one’s self is” (69 Whitman)
Therefore, Dickinson broke with traditional Christian religious beliefs, affirming that human consciousness was comparable to God while Whitman creates equalities between God and Man, body and soul.
Looking at God from Emily Dickinson’s point of view, she questioned God’s existence in many of her poems and used theological vocabulary in an unusual way. Even apparently in one of her poems she made fun of God:
"I never spoke with God Nor visited in Heaven- Yet certain am I of the spot As if the Checks were given-" (Leiter 113)
However, in another of her poems she seems sure of God’s existence, emphasizing her beliefs saying:
I know that He exists.
Somewhere – in silence –
He has hid his rare life
From our gross eyes.
(Leiter 378)
As Dickinson, Walt Whitman challenged the traditional idea of religion, collapsing distinctions between the secular and the spiritual. Whitman wrote about God, positioning himself in God’s place. In some of his poems he makes a comparison between himself and Jesus. Through his constant question about traditional beliefs thought that spirituality is not found in some higher being, it is found in each of us.
The treatment of death by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman is clearly different. Dickinson is aware that death is something natural and she must not suffer for it while Whitman is challenging death in his poems as something malefic.
On the one hand, Dickinson’s fixation on death is based by her religious beliefs. Her treatment of death is presented as something that she accepts and which is also unavoidable; it is something that happens to everyone.
“Because I could not stop for Death” (Norton 52)
She seems not interested in discussing this subject, she just accept the death as a natural fact that every human being will live and she does not believe that death is something created particularly for her. In this case, death is just an inevitable experience that Emily Dickinson sees more pleasant than unpleasant experience. She has not the feeling to fight against death, she just thinks that die is being carried away by a natural
event.
On the other hand, Walt Whitman presents the topic of death almost as a unique thing that only happens to him and as it was personalized. He feels as if death was created personally for him and he must fight against it. Even in “Song of Myself” he addresses death as if he had anything with it. “And as to you Death, and you bitter hug of mortality, it is idle to try to alarm me” (Whitman 70)
In this sentence is like he feels that death has power over him and that death could do all he wishes. He sees death as an unpleasant experience or as something that he should be afraid of it. Whitman is like trying to challenge the death saying that he is not frightened of it. He was not afraid of death, neither intimidated nor resigned. Nevertheless, there are some lines in the poem that show the other part of death, the good part or pleasant things that could come from death.
“And as to you Corpse I think you are good manure, but that does not offend me” (Whitman 70).
“I smell the white roses sweet-scented and growing, I reach to the leafy lips, I reach to the polish’d breasts of melons” (Whitman 70)
But, he does not accept at all the death and forget the fight that he has with death, for this reason put up a fight to rise above the unavoidable.
“Toss to the moaning gibberish of the dry limbs. I ascend from the moon, I ascend from the night, I perceive that the ghastly glimmer is noonday sunbeams reflected, And debouch to the steady and central from the offspring great or small.” (Whitman70)
Both poets found in the treatment of death a salvation, a relief or an escape, as a better place. At first appearance Whitman seems to less convince than Dickinson that death could be the salvation, being a better place. But, when you push out into his poetry you can see his real vision. Even at first time in “Song of Myself” by Whitman, he seems as he is challenging death but when the poem progresses the author changes his opinion about death. Instead Emily Dickinson treated this topic in a completely different way and maintains the same opinion about what is death in the entire poem. She is not frightened of death she is aware that is something that any human being will suffer once in their life.
Both poets shared the love for nature, but they have different points of view. In the treatment of this topic Whitman is a more brotherhood than Dickinson. There are lines in Whitman’s poems that he expresses his relation with nature referring to the bird as his brother, giving to nature an important sense and showing the close relationship with it. "But fuse the song of my dusky demon and brother,
That he sang to me in the moonlight on Paumanok 's gray beach," (Norton 25)
When he referred to the bird as his brother, he is expressing the deep connection with nature. Emily Dickinson has never reached the comfort level that Whitman established in his poems. The difference is that Dickinson expresses the connection with nature with her knowledge of nature’s creatures, not feeling the real connection as Whitman feel, she is like an observer. It could be seen in this stanza by Whitman:
"Alone far in the wilds and mountains I hunt,
Wandering amazed at my own lightness and glee,
In the late afternoon choosing a safe spot to pass the night,
Kindling a fire and broiling the fresh-kill 'd game,
Falling asleep on the gather 'd leaves with my dog and gun by my side." (13 Whitman)
In Emily Dickinson’s nature poems is not so constant the own contact with nature as in Whitman’s poems is. In this stanza he is expressing as his own experiences in nature, spending the night outside with a campfire. These are certainly views of nature that Dickinson never has treated in this way in their poetry.
The following stanza by Dickinson shows a clear comparison of nature’s treatment by both poets and sees how she wrote about nature.
"Several of Nature 's People I know, and they know me- I feel for them a transport Of cordiality." (90 Norton)
As stated above, the type of connection with nature that Emily Dickinson expresses in his poetry is more about the knowledge of nature’s creatures than his own experience in nature as Whitman expresses. In conclusion, Whitman would be the person who experiences nature from inside and in his own skin, however Dickinson was an observer, as if she was on the outside looking in.
In conclusion, even though Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman wrote about the same topics as God and religion, death and nature, the thoughts that they had about it were very different.
Firstly, in God’s treatment and religion both authors broke with the traditional Christian religious beliefs. Dickinson questioned God’s existence and also affirmed that human consciousness was comparable with God. She asserts it making a comparison with “The Brain” of the humans and God while Whitman questioned the superiority of the soul over the body. To question the superiority of the soul he creates equalities between body and soul, God and Man.
Secondly, the death is a main topic on the poems of these American authors, but also treated with a different point of view. Dickinson wrote about death as something that she accepts, because is something that happens to everybody. As she is aware of what her death, she does not feel the death as an unpleasant experience it is just a natural event that she should live duly, she was not afraid of it. On the contrary, Whitman thought that death was personally created for him and he must fight against it. He saw the death as an unpleasant experience or as something that he should be afraid of it. But, both poets have in common the treatment of death in some stanzas, as a salvation, a relief or an escape, as if death was a better place.
Even though, they had different points of view on nature, they share the love for it. They have a different connection with nature, inasmuch as Emily Dickinson expresses in his poetry more about the knowledge of nature’s creatures than his own experience in nature. She is as a mere observer of nature and wrote about it. Instead, Walt Whitman expressed his own experiences in nature, feeling nature from inside and describing his experiences lived on his own skin.
Despite Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman had very different points of view about the same topics, they came from different social status and were educated on different religions. Finally, they were considered two of the most important American poets of history. Does not matter which are their beliefs or their points of view, Dickinson and Whitman reach its breaking with the traditional writing styles, being innovative and writing about new themes that had never been treated before. But, certainly they succeeded by his passion for writing.
Length: 2087 words
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BAYM, Nina. FRANKLIN, Wayne. GURA, Philip F. KRUPAT, Arnold. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Seventh Edition
FOLSOM, Ed. PRICE, Kenneth M. 2005. Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work
LEITER, Sharon. 2007. Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work
WHITMAN, Walt. 2008. Leaves of Grass: The Death Bed Edition
WHITMAN, Walt. 2006. Song of Myself