. As the great lists that make up a large part of Whitman’s poetry show, anything—and anyone—is fair game for a poem. Thus we see Whitman breaking new ground in both subject matter and diction. Whitman writes the poem from his viewpoint using the word “I”. Published Works In Whitman's Hand Life & Letters Commentary Resources Pictures & Sound About the Archive. Walt Whitman. Clarence Brown stated, the words of someone speaking on Walt Whitman, “He is the only one of the conventionally recognized American poets who is worth reading” (37). His ancestry was typical of the region: his mother, Louisa Van Velsor, was Dutch, and his father, Walter Whitman, was of English descent. Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love. Just as America is far different politically and practically from its European counterparts, so too must American poetry distinguish itself from previous models. . I Hear America Singing - Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819–March 26, 1892) is one of the most significant American writers of the 19th century, and many critics consider him the nation's greatest poet. Whitman is perhaps America’s first democratic poet. Whitman, as the narrator, hears and observes the hard-working individuals of America as they … What Is the Grass author Mark Doty and Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown discuss the gay poet's legacy. Though the poem was written on the eve of the Civil War, it presents a vision of America as a harmonious community. Published Works ... AMERICA. Background and Early Years. The poem “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman is written in first-person point of view. Start studying 17.0. He was a man who defined his time and defied its … We will explore Whitman’s relationship to the City, the Self, and the Body through his life and poetry. in the song "Walt Whitman." Born on May 31, 1819, Walt Whitman is the author of Leaves of Grass and, along with Emily Dickinson, is considered one of the architects of a uniquely American poetic voice. Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love. In Leaves of Grass (1855, 1891-2), he celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship. 1.OF the visages of things—And of piercing through to the accepted hells beneath;Of ugliness—To me there is just as much in it as there is in beauty—And now the ugliness of human beings is acceptable to me;Of detected persons—To me, detected persons are not, in any respect, worse than undetected per- sons—and are not in any respect worse than I am myself;Of criminals—To me, any judge, or any juror, is equally criminal—and any reputable person is also—and the President is also.2.OF waters, forests, hills;Of the earth at large, whispering through medium of me;Of vista—Suppose some sight in arriere, through the formative chaos, presuming the growth, fulness, life, now attain'd on the journey;(But I see the road continued, and the journey ever continued;)Of what was once lacking on earth, and in due time has become supplied—And of what will yet be supplied,Because all I see and know, I believe to have purport in what will yet be supplied.3.OF persons arrived at high positions, ceremonies, wealth, scholarships, and the like;To me, all that those persons have arrived at, sinks away from them, except as it results to their Bodies and Souls,So that often to me they appear gaunt and naked;And often, to me, each one mocks the others, and mocks himself or herself,And of each one, the core of life, namely happiness, is full of the rotten excrement of maggots,And often, to me, those men and women pass unwit- tingly the true realities of life, and go toward false realities,And often, to me, they are alive after what custom has served them, but nothing more,And often, to me, they are sad, hasty, unwaked son- nambules, walking the dusk.4.OF ownership—As if one fit to own things could not at pleasure enter upon all, and incorporate them into himself or herself;Of Equality—As if it harm'd me, giving others the same chances and rights as myself—As if it were not indispensable to my own rights that others possess the same;Of Justice—As if Justice could be anything but the same ample law, expounded by natural judges and saviors,As if it might be this thing or that thing, according to decisions.5.As I sit with others, at a great feast, suddenly, while the music is playing,To my mind, (whence it comes I know not,) spectral, in mist, of a wreck at sea,Of the flower of the marine science of fifty generations, founder'd off the Northeast coast, and going down—Of the steamship Arctic going down,Of the veil'd tableau—Women gather'd together on deck, pale, heroic, waiting the moment that draws so close—O the moment!O the huge sob—A few bubbles—the white foam spirting up—And then the women gone,Sinking there, while the passionless wet flows on— And I now pondering, Are those women indeed gone?Are Souls drown'd and destroy'd so?Is only matter triumphant?6.OF what I write from myself—As if that were not the resumé;Of Histories—As if such, however complete, were not less complete than my poems;As if the shreds, the records of nations, could possibly be as lasting as my poems;As if here were not the amount of all nations, and of all the lives of heroes.7.OF obedience, faith, adhesiveness;As I stand aloof and look, there is to me something profoundly affecting in large masses of men, following the lead of those who do not believe in men. 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