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
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His writings were pleasingly stimulating towards others who believed his ideas. In the opening lines of his poem, Whitman writes, "I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. During his time, Walt Whitman made a very brave and bold statement by writing poems that led readers to question his sexual preference. In Whitman’s work “I Sing the Body Electric” he writes about his admiration for the male and female body. In his poems, he hoped to show the nation what kind of community it could become, which was a very bold statement of his time. 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. For example, if you were White, you were White. If you were from the North, you were a Northerner and there was no other way it was seen.
In our society today, there are many different cultures and people from different ethnic backgrounds. Yet in others who did not believe his ideas, his writings stimulated rage and caused controversy. He brought the form of the human body and sexuality into American literature in order to show that both are fundamental parts of who we are, which should be embraced. 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. No other writer had ever done this before and I am sure he received missed reviews for it. 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.
Approximate Word count =
1240
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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