How Does Walt Whitman Understand Twentieth-Century American Poetry
“Walt Whitman”
Literature scholars inevitably encounter Whitman at the commencement of any poetic exploration (Perlman 21). As proposed in the novel Walt Whitman: A Measure of His Song, every twentieth century American poet has some encounter with Whitman, and each encounter is different. “Roy Harvey Pearce, in The Continuity of American Poetry, suggests that ‘All American poetry [since Leaves of Grass] is, in essence if not substance, a series of arguments with Whitman…’ One way to understand twentieth-century American poetry is as an ongoing and evolving discussion, debate or argument with Walt Whitman,” (Perlman 22). From these discussions, scholars voice their personal opinion and interpretations regarding Whitman’s poetic intentions. …show more content…
“Whitman sees him as inevitable and as immortal as God himself. Indeed, he is quite as egotistical and anthropomorphic, though in an entirely different way, as were the old bards and prophets before the advent of science. The whole import of the universe is directed to one man, --to you. His anthropomorphism is not a projection of himself into nature, but absorption of nature in himself. The tables are turned. It is not alien or superhuman beings that he sees and hears in nature, but his own that he finds everywhere. All gods are merged in himself,” (Burroughs 281). Burroughs identifies the truth at …show more content…
A Life of Walt Whitman, London: Methuen &, 1905. Print.
Burroughs, John. Whitman: A Study. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1899. Print.
Junior, Gentil Saraiva. "All About Walt Whitman." Whitman and the Divine Soul of Man. 6 July 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .
Kateb, George. "Walt Whitman and the Culture of Democracy." Political Theory 4th ser. 18 (1990): 545-71. Sage Publications Inc.. University Library System. University of Pittsburgh. 03 Feb. 2011.
Miller, Ewin Harviland. A Century of Whitman Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1971. Print.
Perlman, Jim, Ed Folsom, and Dan Campion. Walt Whitman: The Measure of His Song. Duluth, MN: Holy Cow, 1998. Print.
Rupp, Richard H. Critics on Whitman,. Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami, 1972. Print.
"Walt Whitman 's Poems." The Literary World. 19 Nov. 1881. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .
Williams, C. K. On Whitman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2010. Print.
Woodress, James Leslie. Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1983.
Literature scholars inevitably encounter Whitman at the commencement of any poetic exploration (Perlman 21). As proposed in the novel Walt Whitman: A Measure of His Song, every twentieth century American poet has some encounter with Whitman, and each encounter is different. “Roy Harvey Pearce, in The Continuity of American Poetry, suggests that ‘All American poetry [since Leaves of Grass] is, in essence if not substance, a series of arguments with Whitman…’ One way to understand twentieth-century American poetry is as an ongoing and evolving discussion, debate or argument with Walt Whitman,” (Perlman 22). From these discussions, scholars voice their personal opinion and interpretations regarding Whitman’s poetic intentions. …show more content…
“Whitman sees him as inevitable and as immortal as God himself. Indeed, he is quite as egotistical and anthropomorphic, though in an entirely different way, as were the old bards and prophets before the advent of science. The whole import of the universe is directed to one man, --to you. His anthropomorphism is not a projection of himself into nature, but absorption of nature in himself. The tables are turned. It is not alien or superhuman beings that he sees and hears in nature, but his own that he finds everywhere. All gods are merged in himself,” (Burroughs 281). Burroughs identifies the truth at …show more content…
A Life of Walt Whitman, London: Methuen &, 1905. Print.
Burroughs, John. Whitman: A Study. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1899. Print.
Junior, Gentil Saraiva. "All About Walt Whitman." Whitman and the Divine Soul of Man. 6 July 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .
Kateb, George. "Walt Whitman and the Culture of Democracy." Political Theory 4th ser. 18 (1990): 545-71. Sage Publications Inc.. University Library System. University of Pittsburgh. 03 Feb. 2011.
Miller, Ewin Harviland. A Century of Whitman Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1971. Print.
Perlman, Jim, Ed Folsom, and Dan Campion. Walt Whitman: The Measure of His Song. Duluth, MN: Holy Cow, 1998. Print.
Rupp, Richard H. Critics on Whitman,. Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami, 1972. Print.
"Walt Whitman 's Poems." The Literary World. 19 Nov. 1881. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .
Williams, C. K. On Whitman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2010. Print.
Woodress, James Leslie. Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1983.