Walter Whitman was a famous American writer and poet. He is also known for his achievements in journalism His works revealed both the transcendental and realistic vision of life. Both periods were presented in his works thus being rather controversial especially in his outright collection of poetry. It goes without saying that life experience had a great impact on Whitman’s creative work so that piece of literature involved the reader into the abstracts from his life.
Whitman was born in 1829 not far from Huntington, Long Island, to a family of a farmer. In his childhood, Whitman experienced his own physical tragedy as he witnessed the death of his brothers from poverty and disease. The unstable psychological atmosphere in the family contributed to his personality shaping and to his career as a poet. As for education, Walter ended his schooling at eleven and at twelve he got a job in the newspaper printing office. Since then, he started his long creative work from a newspaperman to an outstanding American writer (Shucard 151). He tried numerous jobs and all of them related to the art of writing. Walter immediately became interested in writing and reading thus gradually interfering in the literary domain. Whitman was fond of reading romantic novels and visiting theaters in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Migrating from one printing office to another, he was improving his skills as a writer. Theatrical life gave him opportunity to be acquainted with Emerson, Carlyle and other representatives of transcendental movement.
His first fiction, a temperance novel Franklin Evans, is quite logical since it was based on his family life and relations with his parents. Like most of his early fictions, the story reveals a conventional home life that could be easily identified with his own endeavors. His other stories often narrate about homecoming, like in Wild Frank’s Return. The work tells about the son’s return to home thus anticipating the family reunification. The story discloses the poet’s past and his personal relations with his father.
The creative works brightly reveal Whitman’s active participation in cultural, social, and political life. Each stage was marked by the poetical period that bears the author’s personal endeavors. His first collection of poetry Leaves of Grass is the mirroring of the early hardships of Whitman’s life. The revolutionary spirit and passionate flow of his poems is the manifestation of soul rebellion. The book of poetry focuses on the early stage of Whitman’s life thus testifying to a desire and ability. In that regard, the first poem A Song of Myself introduces the reader into his inner world full of endless energy:
“I celebrate myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease…observing a spear of summer grass” (Whitman et al. 29).
In this poem, the writer renders his hard path to the world of literature. He also renders his challenging and hard experience of working as a newspaperman. Hence, the question “Have you practiced so long to learn to read?” (Whitman 30) embodies the poet’s dream to become a poet and his vigorous desire to read and learn. In the poem, Whitman uses the powerful first narration on the one hand. However, the verse does not elevate the hero but identifies him with common people. In general, A Song of Myself is the mirror of his song and Leaves of Grass is the collection of experiment endured by the author. The book is distinguished by a great diversity of genres and cultural tastes that emphasize Whitman’s development as personality who was in the constant search of himself. Further, publishing and editions was highly criticized for offensive sexual themes but in the course of time the collection was corrected and renewed by new poems.
During the Civil War, Whitman wrote numerous poems that dedicated to the military actions and his personal worry about his brother George that had entered the Union army. His optimistic poem Beat! Beat! Drum! was a patriotic call for the reuniting of the forces. The poem is full of courage so that it served to cheer up the soldiers and his brother in particular (Whitman et al. 433).
Whitman’s poem also manifested his determined faith in American democracy. He advocated constitutionalism and natural law. Poet’s strong belief focused on human souls of ordinary people. The faith in liberal humanity gave him opportunity to suppose that the soul did exist, as it is the basis of democracy. In that regard, Walt Whitman criticized the current American democracy, because it dictated human behavior and hampered human development (Gambino 1). His political position is quite clear when reading the following lines: “O I see flashing that this America is only you and me” (Whitman 420). Therefore, Whitman’s vision of democracy lied in equality and independence so that poetry truly disclosed his real fight for his values.
In conclusion, Whitman’s creative work leaves much space for consideration due the profoundness and liberalism of his thoughts. Most of his stories and poems contain the traits of his own experience in his life and the life of family. Perhaps, Whitman saw poetry as the method for relieving his soul from grief and pain that he overcame in life. Anyway, the profound collection of his poetry is a veritable autobiographical source.
Works Cited
Gambino, Richard. “Walt Whitman: He Was a Liberator of People and CultureUsingaLiberated Poetic Form.” The Nation, 2003: 14.
Shucard, Alan. American poetry: the Puritans through Walt Whitman. US: Univ of Massachusets Press, 1990.
Whitman, Walt & Karbiener, Karen. Leaves of Grass: First and “Death-Bed” Editions. US: Spark Education Publishing, 2004.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. US: KeyDreams, 1914.