Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman Transitional Poets

What does Transition Mean?

Romanticism Nature The Individual Intuition rather than Reason Branches of romanticism (Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism) were extreme

Realism Focus on the common, average man Literature was realistic rather than romanticized (extreme) There was a focus on subjects truly American Extreme Detail Class (social groups) becomes important

Emily Dickinson Reclusive Published only a handful of poems which were not well-received Left instructions for her poems to be destroyed

Unconventional Use of dashes instead of traditional punctuation Uncommon Capitalization First edition “corrected her forms,” but Johnson’s version in 1955 restored the original elements

Techniques Slant rhyme: final sounds are similar but not identical Paradox: a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

Walt Whitman Wrote Leaves of Grass, his Life’s work, which was continuously revised 12 poems (first edition) 383 poems (deathbed edition) Was both a Transcendentalist and a Realist Critics never accepted his poetry, But Emerson praised him.

American Epic: Leaves of Grass Expresses national ideals. Epic theme: All people of all times connected by shared experience of life. ALL people are the hero of this epic.

Transcendental Focus Poetry conveys belief in democracy, equality, spiritual unity, and the potential of the human spirit. Captures the diversity of the American people. Conveys energy and intensity of all forms of life.

Walt Whitman Poetry broke every poetic tradition of rhyme and meter by writing in free verse Used cataloging and repetition instead of lots of figurative language Didn’t write to fit any one literary period

Techniques Free Verse: irregular meter and line length sounds like natural speech. Every line shaped to suit poet’s meaning. Catalogues (Lists) create a colorful parade of images that suggest each element is of equal worth. Anaphora: repetition of phrases with similar structure or meaning (p. 425)