Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson

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had on him. His lyrics are for the most part long and twisting with extraordinary symbolism. Likewise, they appear to be extremely individual, as though Whitman is letting you know all that he includes his most personal thoughts in his work. Whitman does not keep down – actually, his sonnets are once in awhile excessively uncovering, which collected feedback, positive or negative, particularly when the subject included sex or the human body (Baym 22). By and large, Whitman can be viewed as a free spirit who felt he needed to join the elite writers of his age, whom he appreciated, most importantly Emerson, in scholarly distinction. Emily Dickinson, be that as it may, was to a great degree sorted out and traditionalist. She was naturally introduced to a high society Calvinist family, which implied that she never needed to work (Baym 80). She was sent to a religious boarding school, which she didn’t finish since she disclosed to her educators that she had "no hope" (Baym 80). Dickinson lived with her folks for as long as she can remember and did not go out much, prompting stories of her being a hermit. Be that as it may, she had a couple of companions and conceivably some love interests, which may have propelled some of her affectionate lyrics (Baym 81). Not at all like Whitman, Dickinson did not look for distinction amid her life. Truth be told, not very many of her sonnets were distributed until after her passing.

Dickinson’s secluded personality made for an interesting interpretation on her written work. She was extremely well read; in fact, hints of Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Browning, and even the Bible can be found in her works (Baym 80). The sonnets she composed show that she was incredibly intrigued by the ideas of death, love, and religion. She investigates these using non-literal dialect, for example, the line in poem 479: "Because I could not stop for Death - / He kindly stopped for me," (Dickinson 91). Dickinson addressed Emerson’s argument in a way that some would contend is significantly more innovative than Whitman’s style. As opposed to discarding all lovely structure, she included her own expressive touch – most outstandingly, dashes and capitalization. Dickinson wrote in an extremely strict fourteener meter that is usually found in nursery rhymes and church songs. In any case, inside these ballads, she covers genuine themes and frequently astonishes the reader with her treatment of a point or the conclusion she draws from it. For instance, in her poem 236, she essentially discourages individuals who go to church and says that she is in an ideal situation talking specifically to God in her own home (Dickinson 84). This would have been a genuinely shocking thought for the sincerity of religion during the time, despite the fact that the sonnet is exhibited in a basic, nearly sing along melody that is matched with her ABCB rhyme plot, which is steady throughout every last line of her work. In a short discussion, Dickinson’s style is unbending, however, still challenged the norms in both style and substance.

While Whitman’s streaming, cheerful, hipster like ballads appear to be altogether different from Dickinson’s inflexible and once in awhile dark, uncertain work, the two writers have two imperative things alike in manner. In the first place, they both addressed Emerson’s challenge for verse that rises above the ordinary lyrics from that era. Because of this accomplishment, a significant second shared trait was created – both have turned out to be colossally compelling artists whose work still perseveres in present literature. Whitman’s legacy is substantial, containing any semblance of Langston Hughes and Allen Ginsberg. Dickinson’s unavoidable motivation, for both style and substance, can apparently be found in progress of essayists, for example, Sylvia Plath and E.E. Cummings. The two artists are and will be recognized as pioneers through ages that changed the scene of American verse by thinking outside the box.