Walt Whitman Transcendentalism

Life after Death, Acknowledgment after Death

It’s odd to think that two of America’s most renowned poets of the 1800’s had never received the recognition they deserved till long after their deaths. This could have been due to their distinctive writing styles, rebellious to the 19th century transition between the literary concepts of Gothic Romanticism and Naturalism or Realism. The rhythm schemes, word play, and imagery of both these authors, was unlike any poetical works that readers of the day had been exposed to, hence making their writings later, by critics of this day-and-age, considered creatively distinguishing from their fellow poets of the time. But perhaps, most notable of all, the lack of appreciation they should have earned
from their works, may have been due to both Emily Dickenson’s and Walt Whitman’s bizarrely unique views of the entity, Death. To begin with, both these remarkable poets lived through the peaks of their careers during the later 1800’s. Dickenson, born December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts, did not produce much of her more known works till her later years of life, eventually passing away May 16, 1886 without having published nearly any of her writings. Whitman was from Long Island, New York and lived from May 31, 1819 to March 26, 1892; but it wasn’t until nearly on his death bed did he finally consider his most notable collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass, complete. Dickenson as well as Whitman had written extensive treasuries of poems and essays but their entitled literary accreditation was to come after their time. During the early to mid 19th century, Gothic Romanticism was the common writing style depicted in literary novels, short stories, and poetry. The mood portrayed through this style was darkly mysterious, oftentimes involving the absurdity of the unknown and supernatural. Later in the 1800’s literary works began embracing the everyday reality of the human being through Naturalism and Realism. Poetry using this literary style gave its topics a representation based on physical actuality of how it existed in normality, avoiding any embellishment or exaggeration. Yet even though these writing styles, both Gothic Romanticism and Naturalism, were the accepted forms of literature by 19th century readers, more unconventional tactics were taken by Dickenson and Whitman.
Original in her verse form and grammar usage, Emily Dickenson wrote provoking poetry that questioned concepts of life and death. The majority of her life was spent in solitary seclusion from the outside world, causing Dickenson’s works to have adapted tones of inner speculation upon her topics, followed by thoughtful analysis and vivid analogies made in order to provide possible explanations. Dickenson’s writings, unlike Gothic Romanticism or Naturalism, would concentrate on one single entity and explore every aspect of it. Her themes ranged from the many different concepts of the mind, body, and soul, to the multitude of outlooks on dying, life after death, immortality, and purpose. In this poem, one of her many left untitled, she created a novel conception of the very instance of Death occurring.
“The Difference between Despair
And Fear, is like the One
Between the instant of a Wreck
And when the Wrech has been-
The Mind is smooth-
No motion- Contented as the Eye
Opon the Forehead of a Bust-
That knows it cannont see-“ --Emily Dickinson
Her verses flow in a sing/song fashion where the accents of words play with reader’s natural emphasis on the text’s ideas. Pauses and breaks build upon Dickinson’s purpose of illustrating Death’s immediate instant as not only a peaceful detachment, but an out-of-body acknowledgement of a choice; which emotion should the mind accept with the realization of its person’s own demise? In the case of Walt Whitman, his verse form could be more related to the flow of prose poetry, causing the lengths of his individual works to be considerable longer than those of Dickinson.
Whitmans’s poetical deviation from his time’s popular styles, his writings shed light on Transcendentalism, a literary style emphasizing spiritual philosophy accepting instinctual, personal intuition rather than society’s preexisting understanding of reality. He applied this reasoning to his belief of the necessary relationship a poet must hold with the very concept of society as a living entity. His works would address larger aspects of life, then dissect them into each key component that contributed to the original, more general topic, and finally he would explore in depth the many possible ways of describing the experience of the entire process. In his poem, “Trickle Drops,” he depicts fleeting, trickling drops of blood, illustrating every aspect of their cause, purpose, departure, journey, and
destination. “Trickle drops! my blue veins leaving! O drops of me! trickle, slow drops,
Candid from me falling, drip, bleeding drops,
From wounds made to free you whence you were prison’d
From my breast, from within where I was conceale’d, press forth red drops, confession drops,
Stain every page, stain every song I sing, every word I say, bloody drops,
Let them know your scarlet heat, let them glisten,
Saturate them with yourself all ashamed and wet,
Glow upon all I have written or shall write, bleeding drops,
Let it all be seen in your light, blushing drops.” --“Tiny Drops,” Walt Whitman
The drops of blood become conscious, meaningful, objects. They have origin, motion, determination, and abilities all expressed through the author’s powerful emotions evoked by their existence. Whitman gives life to these otherwise inanimate objects by acknowledging everything they represent to him. By empowering lifeless entities with living essences, Whitman’s writing, like Dickinson’s surpassed the previously recognized boundaries of exploring life, death, and everything in between. In both quotations provided, an underlying theme of Death is evident.
The concept of Death is definitely a recurring motif in the poetry of Dickinson and Whitman. Though they choose to depict it and explore its meaning in different ways, the initial intrigue in the topic is unquestionably shared. In many of their works, ideas and thoughts of life after death are proposed and examined. Emily Dickinson takes a more personal approach by depicting herself as holding an actual relationship with Death. In many of her portrayals, Death is considered a courtly lover, proposing to Dickinson a choice, a chance, and an end. Whitman gives death an embodiment of a both destructive as well as peaceful resolution to conclude one’s life
with. Though of these two remarkable poets experienced their own deaths before the true worth of their works were discovered, both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman definitely conquered the concept of immortality they so passionately explored in their writing. Through today’s continually growing appreciation of their talented poetry, the respect, admiration, and remembrance of Dickinson and Whitman’s words genuinely does possess life after death.