Sexuality in Whitman's Poetry
Walt Whitman has been acclaimed by many as one of America's greatest contributors to poetry. Chief among his works is his book entitled Leaves of Grass, which quickly gained a substantial following after its publication due to subsequent revisions and updated editions. Whitman's works accurately personify American. His distinct democratic ideals shine through in a way that captured readers across the continent. Leaves of Grass achieved such great success in part because of the sensual light in which Whitman portrays the events which he has observed. The theme of sexuality dominates several of the works found in Leaves of Grass. Some have even been noted as containing direct references to and avocation of homosexual relationships, specifically between two men. Five of these in particular reveal very close sexual themes when examined closely (Walt Whitman 1819-1892).Whitman was the second child in a family of nine children. At age eleven he left his school in Long Island in search of work. Shortly thereafter, he became a law office clerk, and though previously inexperienced, he began writing sentimental poetry in numerous periodicals. He soon progressed further into his field by obtaining
Here the young man struggles almost as with another person (Whitman, Sexuality, and Poetic Authority). "Spontaneous Me" compares resisting sexual urges to an assault. They needn't have had faces at all (Whitman, Sexuality, and Poetic Authority, page 3). A young man awakens in the middle of the night and struggles against his own urges: "The young man that wakes deep at night, the hot hand seeking to/repress what would master him. It may also be that Whitman experienced a great deal of liberation in coming to terms with his own homosexuality, and this in turn eased his progression into a more liberated method of writing. " This line is thought to reference masturbation on the part of the speaker (Whitman, Sexuality, and Poetic Authority). Emerson even expressed his disdain regarding the matter. Lawrence concludes that Whitman viewed women as being "muscles and wombs. I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you, And you must not be abased to the other. It was also, not uncommon for Whitman to refer to women quite sparingly. "The turning point of Whitman's career as a writer seems to have occurred during a lecture called "The Poet" given in 1842 by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In contrast, "Song of Myself" shows more direct references to Whitman's sexual tendencies. This can be seen in the second half of the excerpt which can be taken to speak of the physical penetration of Whitman's body by his soul or lover (Whitman, Sexuality, and Poetic Authority). the position of editor for both the New York Aurora and the Brooklyn Eagle. As Whitman's soul has taken on its own persona, it becomes more akin to a physical male lover.
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