Reflection: Walt Whitman's Writing Style

Walt Whitman lived in the mid 1800's. He published his first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855 (Connors). It incorporated a new poetic form and and had subjects that the world have never read before (Connors). Whitman set out to create a new American Poetry (Connors). He stopped with traditional rhyme schemes and wanted to move into a new form. He also made his subject bolder and had a bigger focus on nature (Connors). Whitman created a new style of writing that became very popular. People still try to reach the level of creativity that he did to this day. I think that Whitman was very influential on people and created a legacy.

Believing that nature was the root of all beautiful things, Whitman made sure to include nature n all of his works. Nature was also part of the American Romanticism Movement, so Whitman related to the writer's of that era. An example of his writing is the following:

O powerful, western, fallen star!

O shades of night! O moody, tearful night!

O great star disappear’d! O the black murk that hides the star!

O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me!

O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul!

(Whitman). It showed how much nature meant to him. He related nature to everything. It shows the dark side of Whitman in the Romanticism period. It also shows the power that Whitman had and how he believed in the natural world.

Whitman writes as if he is speaking directly to the reader. Whitman used his life to fuel his poetry. His writing was mostly about his life experiences. As a child, he experienced life through an urban view. That probably effected his writing as well. I think that the background you come from greatly affects your way of life. His exposure to different ways of live influenced Leaves of Grass. His writing sought to represent the a higher form of American ideals. The political environment concentration during this time also effected Whitman's writing. When the civil war broke out, Whitman found himself to feel very patriotic, like other Americans during this time. The things he saw during the war effected his writing as well. He visited hospitals during the war at least 600 times (Casale).

One main thing that he did differently with his poetry than other poets during his time was using free verse. Free verse poetry is powered by images and speech instead of by rhyme schemes. A lot of contemporary writers use this form of poetry (Edwards). Free verse has very few guidelines or rules. It is similar to blank verse poetry. The only difference is that it is not written as iambic pentameter (Edwards). Even though the words do not rhyme, they still flow in a very unique way. It is a great form of poetry for those who are individualistic and do not like to follow the patterns of others.

I think that Walt Whitman had a very unique writing style that we can still use today.

Connors, Judith. "Whitman, Walt." In Bloom, Harold, ed. Walt Whitman, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCWWh02&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 19, 2012).

Whitman, Walt. "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d." When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman : The Poetry Foundation. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Casale, Frank D. "How to Write about Walt Whitman."Bloom's How to Write about Walt Whitman. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= HTWAWW003&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 20, 2012).

Edwards, Alice Vo. "Free Verse." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .