So Long! Walt Whitman's Poetry of Death

So Long! Walt Whitman's Poetry of Death PDF Author: Harold Aspiz
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 081731377X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Through a close reading of Leaves of Grass, its constituent poems, particularly Song of Myself and Whitman's prose and letters, Aspiz charts how the poet's exuberant celebration of life is a consequence of his central concern: the ever presence of death and the prospect of an afterlife.

Song of Myself

Song of Myself PDF Author: Walt Whitman
Publisher: Gildan Media LLC aka G&D Media
ISBN: 1722525053
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
One of the Greatest Poems in American Literature Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was considered by many to be one of the most important American poets of all time. He had a profound influence on all those who came after him. “Song of Myself”, a portion of Whitman’s monumental poetry collection “Leaves of Grass”, is one of his most beloved poems. It was through this moving piece that Whitman first made himself known to the world. One of the most acclaimed of all American poems, it is written in Whitman’s signature free verse style, without a regular form, meter, or rhythm. His lines have a mesmerizing chant-like quality, as he sought to make poetry more appealing. Few poems are as fun to read aloud as this one. Considered to be the core of his poetic vision, this poem is an optimistic and inspirational look at the world in 1855. It is exhilarating, epic, and fresh in its brilliant and fascinating diction and wordplay as it tries to capture the unique meaning of words of the day, while also embracing the rapidly evolving vocabularies of the sciences and the streets. Far ahead of its time, it was considered by many social conservatives to be scandalous and obscene for its depiction of sexuality and desire, while at the same time, critics hailed the poem as a modern masterpiece. This first version of “Song of Myself” is far superior to the later versions and will delight readers with the playfulness of its diction as it glorifies the self, body, and soul. “I am large, I contain multitudes,”

Poems by Walt Whitman

Poems by Walt Whitman PDF Author: Walt Whitman
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1473362229
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Walt Whitman is widely regarded as one of the masters of American poetry. Here are collected his finest poems, a perfect companion for any fan of Whitman's work.

Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass PDF Author: Walt Whitman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description


The Wound Dresser

The Wound Dresser PDF Author: Walt Whitman
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3732655024
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
Reproduction of the original: The Wound Dresser by Walt Whitman

A Companion to Walt Whitman

A Companion to Walt Whitman PDF Author: Donald D. Kummings
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405195517
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 628

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Book Description
Comprising more than 30 substantial essays written by leading scholars, this companion constitutes an exceptionally broad-ranging and in-depth guide to one of America’s greatest poets. Makes the best and most up-to-date thinking on Whitman available to students Designed to make readers more aware of the social and cultural contexts of Whitman’s work, and of the experimental nature of his writing Includes contributions devoted to specific poetry and prose works, a compact biography of the poet, and a bibliography

Communities of Death

Communities of Death PDF Author: Adam C. Bradford
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 0826273165
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
To 21st century readers, 19th century depictions of death look macabre if not maudlin—the mourning portraits and quilts, the postmortem daguerreotypes, and the memorial jewelry now hopelessly, if not morbidly, distressing. Yet this sentimental culture of mourning and memorializing provided opportunities to the bereaved to assert deeply held beliefs, forge social connections, and advocate for social and political change. This culture also permeated the literature of the day, especially the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. In Communities of Death, Adam C. Bradford explores the ways in which the ideas, rituals, and practices of mourning were central to the work of both authors. While both Poe and Whitman were heavily influenced by the mourning culture of their time, their use of it differed. Poe focused on the tendency of mourners to cling to anything that could remind them of their lost loved ones; Whitman focused not on the mourner but on the soul’s immortality, positing an inevitable reunion. Yet Whitman repeatedly testified that Poe’s Gothic and macabre literature played a central role in spurring him to produce the transcendent Leaves of Grass. By unveiling a heretofore marginalized literary relationship between Poe and Whitman, Bradford rewrites our understanding of these authors and suggests a more intimate relationship among sentimentalism, romanticism, and transcendentalism than has previously been recognized. Bradford’s insights into the culture and lives of Poe and Whitman will change readers’ understanding of both literary icons.

The Afterlives of Specimens

The Afterlives of Specimens PDF Author: Lindsay Tuggle
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1609385403
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The Afterlives of Specimens explores the space between science and sentiment, the historical moment when the human cadaver became both lost love object and subject of anatomical violence. Walt Whitman witnessed rapid changes in relations between the living and the dead. In the space of a few decades, dissection evolved from a posthumous punishment inflicted on criminals to an element of preservationist technology worthy of the presidential corpse of Abraham Lincoln. Whitman transitioned from a fervent opponent of medical bodysnatching to a literary celebrity who left behind instructions for his own autopsy, including the removal of his brain for scientific study. Grounded in archival discoveries, Afterlives traces the origins of nineteenth-century America’s preservation compulsion, illuminating the influences of botanical, medical, spiritualist, and sentimental discourses on Whitman’s work. Tuggle unveils previously unrecognized connections between Whitman and the leading “medical men” of his era, such as the surgeon John H. Brinton, founding curator of the Army Medical Museum, and Silas Weir Mitchell, the neurologist who discovered phantom limb syndrome. Remains from several amputee soldiers whom Whitman nursed in the Washington hospitals became specimens in the Army Medical Museum. Tuggle is the first scholar to analyze Whitman’s role in medically memorializing the human cadaver and its abandoned parts.

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman PDF Author: Linda Wagner-Martin
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030776654
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
Walt Whitman: A Literary Life highlights two major influences on Whitman’s poetry and life: the American Civil War and his economic condition. Linda Wagner-Martin performs a close reading of many of Whitman’s poems, particularly his Civil War work (in Drum-Taps) and those poems written during the last twenty years of his life. Wagner-Martin’s study also emphasizes the near-poverty that Whitman experienced. Starting with his early career as a printer and journalist, the book moves to the publication of Leaves of Grass, and his cultivation of the persona of the “working-class” writer. In addition to establishing Whitman’s attention to the Civil War through journalism and memoirs, the book takes the approach of following Whitman’s life through his poems. Utilizing contemporary perspectives on class, Wagner-Martin provides a new reading of Whitman’s economic situation. This is an accessibly written synthesis of Whitman’s publication history bringing attention to under-studied aspects of his writing.

Bloom's How to Write about Walt Whitman

Bloom's How to Write about Walt Whitman PDF Author: Frank D. Casale
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438127685
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Offers advice on writing essays about the poetry of Walt Whitman and lists sample topics.