1. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
Transitional Poets

2. What does Transition Mean?

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

4. 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

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

6. 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

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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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)