Walt WHitman
Poems are centralized as written expressions of thoughts, emotions, and/or ideas written by the author to express a theme in an art form that appeals to our senses. Through the words written in poems, we perceive images that can appeal to our senses of: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Not only can poetry express a certain theme or idea on a vast range of subjects, but it can also reflect the time period from which it emerged. Throughout time, the expression of culture, sexuality, and religion, three major aspects of our society, seem to be subjects that are always changing. When Walt Whitman was becoming an influential poet and writer, during the later half of the 1800's, it was very common for writers and poets to write about things that did not stir up too much emotion, controversy or rage due to it's content. Writers definitely did not write about love and sexuality as well as many other taboo subjects. Walt Whitman did not appear to be a man from his time period because the themes he expressed in his poems and the senses that were aroused from his poems were not typical of the poetry from his era. Poetry is one of the oldest art forms, which originated from music and plays. Typical poems from Walt Whitman's time use
Due to his expressions in his writings, Whitman was considered a poet of democracy and he presented himself as an American who could identify and relate to all Americans no matter what they're race or caste was because he believed Americans were all unique individuals brought together as a community of brothers. Sexuality to him was not taboo at all and he believed it should be presented and outwardly expressed through his creative art form. During the later half of the 19th century when Walt Whitman first introduced his ideas through his poems, sexuality and outward expression of equality was not widely accepted due to the fact that the society of Whitman's time thought it was very taboo to speak on such bold subjects. Looking at Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" it can be noticed that he sets himself free from the traditional rhyme scheme and uses a new technique of free verse, which was never used before. His writings were pleasingly stimulating towards others who believed his ideas. In many aspects, reading Whitman's poetry is like watching a film that shows glimpses and images of American people and American life. In his time, literature was very intellectual and spiritual and it was very taboo to speak of a woman or a man in any sexual manner. In our society today, there are many different cultures and people from different ethnic backgrounds. Whitman was a different writer because he didn't just talk about these broad categories, but he gave us snapshots of these individuals. No other writer had ever done this before and I am sure he received missed reviews for it. Another stimulating aspect of Walt Whitman's poetry is that he openly talks about sexuality. In present time, as well as in Walt Whitman's era, speaking outwardly about homosexuality can be a very sensitive subject for some people. He wrote about all aspects of America from city life and country life, men and women, northerners and southerners, to blacks and whites, and more.
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