Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson Walt Whitman p508 18191892 Leaves of Grass controversial content and revolutionary form Of 800 copies printed most were thrown away In a letter to Whitman from Emerson Emerson said the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America ha ID: 712180
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RealismBrilliant Mavericks
Walt Whitman and Emily DickinsonSlide2
Walt Whitman, p.508
1819-1892
Leaves of Grass – controversial content and revolutionary form
Of 800 copies printed – most were thrown awayIn a letter to Whitman from Emerson, Emerson said, “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed”
MondaySlide3
The Making of a Poet
Born 1819
Grew up in rural Long Island and crowded Brooklyn
Jobs included office boy, typesetter, printer, newspaper editor, school teacher, carpenter, and journalist1840s published a number of short stories and poems – conventional effortsEmerson was his inspiration for changeSlide4
An American Bard
1850s quit job to work on book
Printed July 4, 1855
9th and final edition of Leaves of Grass was printed in 1892 and had nearly 400 poems“the proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.”
Leaves of Grass is most influential book of poetry in American LiteratureSlide5
Emily Dickinson, p. 524
1830-1886
Always stayed close to home
Restless mind had no creative boundariesMediated on life and death and wrote with originalityConsidered one of the greatest poets of 19th centurySlide6
Dickinson, Family ties
Born into a well-to-do family
Was in awe of her father, estranged from her mother
1847 – Dickinson left home to attend SeminaryWent home after one year – torn between own thoughts and intense religious beliefs of those around herSlide7
Dickinson, A Writer’s Life
1850’s devoted to writing poetry
Dickinson withdrew from the world
She maintained connection to the world by hosting friends and writing lettersSlide8
Dickinson, Poetic Legacy
1886, “Called back” letter to cousin
Realized she was dying
After death, her sister had her poems published (4 years after her death)1775 poems in allSlide9
Free Verse, p.509
Poetry that does not contain regular patterns of rhythm and meter.
Sound more like everyday speech
Uses the following devices to create rhythm:CatalogingRepetitionParallelism
TuesdaySlide10
Tone, p.509
An expression of a writer’s attitude toward his or her subject
Can be respectful, angry, or amused
Expressed through word choice and detailsSlide11
Tone
Title
Example
Tone
“I Hear America Singing”
“blithe and strong”
Happy, confident
“Song of Myself”
“A Noiseless
Patient Spider”
“Beat!
Beat! Drums!”Slide12
“I Hear America Singing”p. 510
What types of workers does Whitman celebrate in this poem?
What do you think singing represents in the poem?
Why do you think Whitman does not mention wealthy entrepreneurs, prominent leaders, or powerful
polititions?
WednesdaySlide13
“Song of Myself”p.512
According to the speaker, in lines 40-43, why is there “really no death”?
To what does the speaker compare himself in section 52?
What do you think grass symbolizes in the poem?Slide14
Whitman, After Reading, p.519
Answer questions #1-6, 8Slide15
DickinsonAuthor’s style, p. 525
Dense
quatrains
, or four-line stanzas, that echo the simple rhythms of church hymnsSlant rhymes
, or words that do not exactly rhyme (“chill”/”Tulle”)Inventive punctuation and sentence structureIrregular capitalization and inverted syntaxSurprising unconventional
figurative language
ThursdaySlide16
Dickinson, “Because I could not stop for Death”, p. 526
How is Death personified?
What do you think the house represents in lines 17-20?Slide17
Dickinson“Success is counted sweetest”, p. 528
Who is the “purple Host” in line 5?
2. Reread lines 9-12. How would you paraphrase these lines?
3. Do you agree that those who fail are better able to appreciate success than those who win? Explain your answer.Slide18
DickinsonAfter Reading, p. 534
Read and respond
Questions #1-7Slide19
Assessment
Write a comparison between the writings of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson
Consider the following:
Tone
StyleIdeas of RealismContent