Comparing Emily Dickinson And Walt Whitman
Who were Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman exactly? In simple terms they were some of the founders of a uniquely American style of poetry. While their lives only spanned the last eight decades of the nineteenth century, their influence on literature has spanned centuries. They became the iconic writers because of their blatant disregard for previous rules of poetry. Dickinson and Whitman’s poems were unique to them and them alone. Besides being unique during their time, their works give insight into the culture and society during the time. Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are both important poets in the creation of an American style of poetry for the way they wrote and their lifestyles, but Whitman had a larger immediate impact. Walt Whitman’s poetic style was his own and had not appeared in literature before his time. The form he uses most often in his works is called free verse. Whitman “abandoned traditional rhyme schemes and formal meters in favor of
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Whitman threw almost all the rules out the window with his free verse and extravagant diction. These granted his poems a passion that people could feel and seemed like apart of conversation or song because of the way it is composed. Dickinson on the other hand retained much of the structure aspect of old poetry, but within those confines was something new. She crammed meaning into few words, but was still able to convey her thoughts and supported them through her unusual literary devices. However, between the two Walt Whitman had a larger effect on creating an unmistakable American genre. The focus of his writings were more upon things people could relate to. Furthermore, he was able to advertise his works making more people aware of him, compared to Dickinson who no one really knew about until years after her death. The manner in which Walt Whitman writes leaves a lasting impression because of how it can relate to just about
Whitman threw almost all the rules out the window with his free verse and extravagant diction. These granted his poems a passion that people could feel and seemed like apart of conversation or song because of the way it is composed. Dickinson on the other hand retained much of the structure aspect of old poetry, but within those confines was something new. She crammed meaning into few words, but was still able to convey her thoughts and supported them through her unusual literary devices. However, between the two Walt Whitman had a larger effect on creating an unmistakable American genre. The focus of his writings were more upon things people could relate to. Furthermore, he was able to advertise his works making more people aware of him, compared to Dickinson who no one really knew about until years after her death. The manner in which Walt Whitman writes leaves a lasting impression because of how it can relate to just about