Transcendentalist Poet Walt Whitman Transcendentalist Poet

Walt Whitman “The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.” – Walt Whitman

Access Prior Knowledge What do we know about Transcendentalism? What do we know about Romanticism? What do we know about what was going on with poetry during the period of British Romanticism (Victorian Age)? (e.g. What styles of poems were popular?)

A Little Bit About Whitman Spent his entire life composing one long series of poems, called Leaves of Grass 1855 – first edition contained 12 poems 1891 – “deathbed” edition contained 383 poems Sort of like an “urban” Transcendentalist Loved NYC, not “nature dweller” Worked as an office boy, doctor’s helper, printer, journalist, typesetter, volunteer nurse during Civil War First poet to write in free verse His poetry celebrated democracy and the common man

Guiding Questions How are these poems quintessential Whitman poems (and, therefore, quintessential Transcendentalist poems)? How do the poems’ structures and literary devices contribute meaning?

Let’s Read and Analyze the Poems “I Hear America Singing” “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”