Walt Whitman And Emily Dickinson - 1625 Words

Prominent poets of the nineteenth century, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson share a preoccupation with spirituality, freedom, and death, which characterizes many of their works. In the poems ‘A Woman Waits for Me’ by Whitman and ‘Title divine, is mine’ by Dickinson, they use a similar approach to these shared subjects. However, they tackle their respective poems from differing positions of social power, which places them in opposition to each other. Though both poets conceptualize spiritual union through earthly union, marriage and intercourse respectively, Whitman relies on patriarchal norms to legitimize his argument while Dickinson subverts them by claiming power for herself. Whitman’s ‘A Woman Waits for Me’ is part of the ‘Children of†¦show more content†¦Whitman’s choice to place his ‘I’ within the framework of the biblical genealogies recalls Medieval practice of using royal genealogies as political propaganda to legitimize succession. In doing so, Whitman is essentially legitimizing American succession as a nation and world power by extending this biblical context. Whitman also makes an explicit connection linking the intercourse between himself and the titular ‘woman’ to the imagery of a river. In line thirty-one, Whitman’s ‘I’ says to the woman, â€Å"Through you I drain the pent-up rivers of myself† (2257). Aside from connecting ejaculation to an outpouring of personal identity which remains connected to the source, river imagery in the bible is often linked to the act of crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, and accordingly to freedom. Whitman’s connection between the physical act of penetration and the future of the American nation suggests that the moment of ejaculation is akin to crossing the river into the American promised land. In ‘A Woman Waits for Me,’ Whitman casts his ‘I’ persona in the role of the representative man who is the originator of the American people, just as Adam is the originator of mankind. In this role, Whitman’s ‘I’ draws his power from the linage of patriarchs before him, upholding the norms of male dominance and female submission. Though he claims that the woman waiting for him is his equal, â€Å"not one jot less† (l. 15, 2256) than he is,Show MoreRelatedEmily Dickinson And Walt Whitman1719 Words   |  7 PagesThey find a way to insert themselves and their emotions into words that move the readers in some way. One of the most popular periods of writing would be the romanticism era. Some of the most well known authors in this time period were Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. The reason they are so popular from the Romanticism period is because they also incorporated their transcendental ideas into their work. Romanticism has been described as a Protestantism in the arts and letters, an ideological shiftRead MoreWalt Whitman and Emily Dickinson808 Words   |  4 PagesWalt Whitman and Emily Dickinson both had different and similar views, which influenced how they wrote their poetry. Their social context, life experiences, and gender are reflected in their poetry. Emily Dickinson focused a lot on death and her struggles of being a woman during her time. Her poems often described the inner state of mind. Waltman attempted to combine universal themes with individual feelings and experiences, such as his personal experiences with the Civil War. Whitman and DickinsonRead MoreEmily Dickinson And Walt Whitman1473 Words   |  6 Pagesrecommending the former. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman agree that living life in a passive manner is not acceptable. 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Compared to Dickinsons short and seemingly simple poems, Whitmans are long and often complex. Both pioneered their own unique style of writing. Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson both have been hailed as original and unique artists. They each have distinctive voices that many have attempted to replicate and have been unable to do so. Whitman wrote in epic like proportions; heRead MoreDeath, a Theme in Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman ´s Poetry1145 Words   |  5 PagesWalt Whitman and Emily Dickinson’s poetry is very different; however death seems to be a familiar topic amongst both poets. Opposites attract, and you could say the same for Whitman and Dickinson because though they have different writing styles both repeatedly write about death. Once more, although both Whitman and Dickinson have many different feelings about death, they also share many similar feelings about it as well. Although Walt Whitmans poetry is rather long and quite simple and Emily Dickinsons