Defining The American Poet Through Leaves Of Grass Walt...

nathan Reed Andrew Walker AML3041-0001 02 August 2015 Defining the American Poet through Leaves of Grass: Walt Whitman Walt Whitman s Leaves of Grass define the aspects of democratic poetry. Early reviews of Leaves of Grass claim that Whitman is the original American poet. This is due to how Whitman practices the democratic view of human equality. For example, if we take a look at a review published in the New York Daily Times that was written in 1856, less than a year after leaves of grass was published, the author claims about Whitman â€Å"We are much mistaken if, after all, he does not yet contribute something to American literature which shall awaken wonder.† The reviewer recognized early on of Whitman’s genius and was able to predict Whitman’s influence on American poetry. Charles Dana of the New York Daily Times writes a review of Leaves of Grass in July of 1855, just months after its first publication. In the review Dana states â€Å"He vouchsafes, before introducing us to his poetry, to enlighten our benighted minds as to the true function of the American poet.†(D ana, Charles A. Review of Leaves of Grass (1855)This observation, suggests that in American politics, culture, and prior literary sources we were missing this American vision. By analyzing the democracy in Walt Whitman’s poetry it is important to first analyze the origins of democracy. Language in the reviews of Leaves of Grass in the mid-nineteenth-century reflect a sense of nostalgia. Society was nostalgicShow MoreRelatedAn Inexplicable Nature of the American Identity Essay1242 Words   |  5 Pagesidentification enamored the American people. Progress was inevitable as was cultural definition. But as time progressed, the feeling of unlimited strength, time and space transformed into something that, for better or worse, was no longer shared by later poets. 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For the Bard of Democracy, as America came to call our great poet, music was a centralRead MoreHow Fa Has the Use of English Language Enriched or Disrupted Life and Culture in Mauritius15928 Words   |  64 Pagesads not by this site [pic] [pic] ENGL 103A: American Literature 1789-1900 (Archived) Dept of English, UC Santa Barbara (Summer 2011) †¢ ABOUT †¢ ASSIGNMENTS †¢ SYLLABUS †¢ DISCUSSION †¢ CLOSE READINGS CLOSE READINGS Post your close reading posts here. Share this: †¢ Twitter †¢ Facebook †¢ Like this: Like Loading... [pic] 26 Comments on â€Å"CLOSE READINGS† 1. [pic]John Cooper says: July 13, 2011 at 3:36 pm Emily Dickenson’s poem â€Å"Because