A-Comparison-between-Walt-Whitman-and-Emily-Dickin

AComparisonbetweenWaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinson08英语3班王少军学号：0828230074（13）Abstract：ThispaperintroducestheworksofWaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinsonandhowtheirworksinfluencedAmericanpoetry.WaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinsonaretwoAmericangreatpoetsinthesamecentury,creatinganewliteraryera.WaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinson’sworkshavenumerousdifferences.ComparedtoDickinson’sshortandseeminglysimplepoems,Whitman’sarelongandoftencomplex.Yetbothtwentiethcenturywritersshareseveralsimilaritieswhendelvedintothoroughly.Thoughtheirapproachesdiffer,theyoftendealwiththesamethemes,andbothpioneeredtheirownuniquestyleofwriting.Keywords：death;belief;style;work1.similarities1.1.concerningdeathUsingdeathasathemeisprobablythestrongestconnectionthatWhitmanandDickinsonshare.Whitman’sviewondeathisreflectiveofhisbeliefinTranscendentalism.In“SongofMyself”,WhitmanusesthescientificprincipleofThermodynamicstoassertthatthereislifeafterdeath,becauseenergycannotbedestroyed;onlytransformed.Instanzasix,hewrites“Andwhatdoyouthinkhasbecomeofthewomenandchildren?/Theyarealiveandwellsomewhere,/Thesmallestsproutsshowsthereisreallynodeath”.Whitmancontendsthatliferemainslongafterdeath,andtofindhimnowallonemustdoislook“underyourboot-soles”.Dickinson’swritingsondeatharemorecomplexandparadoxical.Shepersonifiesdeath,generallyseeingasalordorasacompellinglover.Inoneofhermorepopularpoems,“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”,deathislikeakindlycourter.Hepicksherupina“CarriageheldbutjustforOurselves-/AndImmortality”.Manyofherotherpoemsareaboutthemomentofdeath,andwhathappenswhenthelivingcrossoverintothedead.In“IheardaFlybuzz-whenIdied”,Dickinsontriestoexplainwhathappensattheboundaryofdeath.Shedescribestheexperienceasconflictedasshestrivestodefinethatmomentwithvividimagesandsounds.AlthoughWhitmanandDickinsonwriteaboutdeathindifferentcontexts,bothseemtofeelcompelledtotackletheissuerepeatedly.Itisalsoapparentthatneitherfeltintimidatedaboutdeath.Whitmanreferstohisimpendingdeathinthefinalstanzaof“SongofMyself”.Dickinsonherselfwrote(tohercousins),“LittleCousins,/Calledback-/Emily.”onherdeathbed.1.2.beliefReligionisalsoanothersubjectbothwritersstrugglewith,anditoftentiesintothedeaththeme.DuringtheRomanticera,previousidealsandmoralswerequestioned.Religionwasscrutinized,andoftenconsideredoutdatedandirrelevant.Whitmanchallengedthetraditionalideaofreligion,basinghisphilosophyoffoftranscendentalism.Hecollapsesthedistinctionsbetweenthespiritualandthesecular.HeoftenputshimselfinplaceGod.Forexample,in“CrossingBrooklynFerry”heimpliesthathecanseeacrosstime.Instanzathree,hedirectlyassociateshimselfwithJesusChristbywriting“Iamwithyou”,anechofromtheBible.Whitmanfrequentlyusesthisechotechnique,notonlyin“Crossing”,butalsoin“SongofMyself”.Stanza19in“Song”isparalleltothefeastoftherichmanintheBible.OnceagainhecompareshimselftoJesus,inviting“thewickedjustthesameastherighteous”.DespitethetendencyofRomanticstodismissGodcompletely,Whitman,perhapsduetoPuritanpressure,felttheneedtoaddressthelargerissuesofreligionandGod.Hisassertionthatspiritualityisfoundineachofus,notinsomehigherbeingisaresultofhisconstantquestioningoftraditionalbeliefs,combinedwithhisinabilitytodiscardallnotionsofmoralityandvalues.2.distinction2.1.theirownthoughtsdeathEmilyDickinson’sphilosophyondeathwasmuchmoretraditional,yetshetooconstantlyquestionedtheCalvinisticbeliefsshehadgrownupwith.Herfixationondeathisafundamentalpartofherreligiousbeliefs,andmanyofherpoemsfocusonheranxietyoverherElectstatus.ManyofherpoemsseemtoquestionGod’sexistence,andtheimportanceofHimifHedoesexist.InonepoemsheseeminglymakesfunofGod,saying“ThatwehadrathernotwithHim/Butwitheachotherplay”.YetmanypoemsseemquitesurethatHedoesindeedexist.Thisbeliefisemphasizedbysuchlinesas“IknowthatHeexists”,“IneverspokewithGod/NorvisitedinHeaven-/YetcertainamIofthespot/AsiftheChecksweregiven-“.LikeWhitman,Emilyfeelstheneedtochallengetheroleofreligion,yetbothultimatelyareincapableoftossingoldbeliefsentirely.2.2.influencebyprofessionWaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinsonbothhavebeenhailedasoriginalanduniqueartists.Theyeachhavedistinctivevoicesthatmanyhaveattemptedtoreplicateandhavebeenunabletodoso.Whitmanwroteinepiclikeproportions,averyunepic-likemanner.Hedevelopedhisownrhythmicstructure,creatingcomplexlinesandstanzas.Whitman’sstyleoffreeversebecomesynonymouswithhisnameandworks,andhelpeddistinguishhimasagreatAmericanpoet.Hispreoccupationwithsex,thehumanbody,andnumerousother“taboo”subjects,changedtheAmericanpublicsviewofpoetry.Dickinson’sworksarejustasunique,duemainlytoheroddplacementofpunctuation,unusualgrammar,andsimplicityoflanguage.Herlinesendabruptly,outwardlyinnocuouswordsareoftencapitalized,andhertendencytowritemeterstypicalofhymnalsalldistinguishesherfromotherwriters.BothWhitmanandDickinsonwriteofcommonandeverydayobjectsandpeople,whileaddressingthelargerissuesoflifewithinthatcontext.Conclusion：WhileWaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinson’sworksseemtobequitedifferent,theysharecommonthemes,namelydeathandreligion.Whiletheirviewsmaydiffer,thereisasenseofcommonalitywhenreadingtheirworkssidebyside.Bothpoetsareaccla