Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln
Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln
Table of contents
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………2
2. Whitman’s position in American literature………………………………………2
3. Whitman’s poetry before the civil war…………………………………...............3
4. Lincoln’s death – a turning point for Whitman………………………………….6
5. Walt Whitman’s four poems on the American nation’s grief…………………7 5.1 Hush 'd Be the Camps To-day…………………………………………………..7 5.2. When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom 'd…………………………………7 5.3 O Captain! My Captain!................................................................................8 5.4 This Dust Was Once the Man…………………………………………………10
6. Summary……………………………………………………………………………..10
7. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………12
Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln
1. Introduction
Walt Whitman is one of the great poets in American literature.
His variety of poetic works has influenced generations of writers.
A remarkable fact is that Walt Whitman’s famous poem O Captain! My Captain! (Whitman 1865b) even found its way into modern film art in the film Dead Poets Society. This shows how relevant Whitman’s poetry is still today.
This term paper will concentrate on the influence Abraham Lincoln had on Walt Whitman and his poetic writing style. In particular, focus will be put on Walt Whitman’s four poems on Abraham Lincoln’s death. Differences to Whitman’s former poetic works will be illuminated in short, as well as differences within the four death poems. Due to its exceptional position, the poem O Captain! My Captain! will be examined more detailed.
2. Whitman’s position in American literature
Walt Whitman is considered to be one the most important writers in American literature. He is famous for his extraordinary writing style and has gradually become an icon of American exceptionalism. Whitman regarded the fast developing America as the new nation out of nations.
In the years
Table of contents
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………2
2. Whitman’s position in American literature………………………………………2
3. Whitman’s poetry before the civil war…………………………………...............3
4. Lincoln’s death – a turning point for Whitman………………………………….6
5. Walt Whitman’s four poems on the American nation’s grief…………………7 5.1 Hush 'd Be the Camps To-day…………………………………………………..7 5.2. When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom 'd…………………………………7 5.3 O Captain! My Captain!................................................................................8 5.4 This Dust Was Once the Man…………………………………………………10
6. Summary……………………………………………………………………………..10
7. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………12
Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln
1. Introduction
Walt Whitman is one of the great poets in American literature.
His variety of poetic works has influenced generations of writers.
A remarkable fact is that Walt Whitman’s famous poem O Captain! My Captain! (Whitman 1865b) even found its way into modern film art in the film Dead Poets Society. This shows how relevant Whitman’s poetry is still today.
This term paper will concentrate on the influence Abraham Lincoln had on Walt Whitman and his poetic writing style. In particular, focus will be put on Walt Whitman’s four poems on Abraham Lincoln’s death. Differences to Whitman’s former poetic works will be illuminated in short, as well as differences within the four death poems. Due to its exceptional position, the poem O Captain! My Captain! will be examined more detailed.
2. Whitman’s position in American literature
Walt Whitman is considered to be one the most important writers in American literature. He is famous for his extraordinary writing style and has gradually become an icon of American exceptionalism. Whitman regarded the fast developing America as the new nation out of nations.
In the years
Bibliography: Archive. Last viewed Feb. 15, 2011. Whitman, Walt. 1865a. "Hush 'd Be the Camps To-day" Leaves of Grass. 1891- 1892 edition in The Walt Whitman Archive Whitman, Walt. 1865b. "O Captain! My Captain!" Leaves of Grass. 1891-1892 edition in The Walt Whitman Archive Whitman, Walt. 1865c. "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d" Leaves of Grass Whitman, Walt. 1871-72. "Starting from Paumanok" Leaves of Grass. 1871-1872 edition in The Walt Whitman Archive Whitman, Walt. 1872. "This Dust Was Once the Man" Leaves of Grass. 1871-1872 edition in The Walt Whitman Archive Whitman, Walt. 1891-92. “Song Of Myself” Leaves of Grass in The Walt Whitman Archive Reynolds, David S. ed. 2000. “A Historical Guide To Walt Whitman” New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Inc. Reynolds, David S. 1995. “Walt Whitman’s America” A Cultural Biography. 4th print Glicksberg, Charles I. ed. 1963. “Walt Whitman And The Civil War”. University Of Pennsylvania Press Encyclopaedia.” The Walt Whitman Archive. Last viewed Feb. 15, 2011. . Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1855. “Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson” in Foregrounds and Apprenticeships Reynolds, David S. 2005. “The historian perspective. Lincoln and Whitman.” The Gilder Lehrmann Institute of American History Whitman, Walt. 1879. “II. Collect. 9. Death of Abraham Lincoln“ Prose Works. Philadelphia: McKay, David 15, 2011. .