blog
media download page
Essay / What made Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson part of the Romantic movement?The Romantic movement, or period, ran from 1828 to approximately 1865. The main characteristic of the American Romantic period was the celebration and the praise of individualism. This era is also considered the first period of true American creativity. Emotion, rather than reason, became the greatest source of inspiration and creativity during this period. This was all a reaction to all the constraints placed on people during the era of realism. At this time in history America was in a great period of expansion, writers of the American Romantic period were discovering what could create a new and very different voice for this new era of time. This new era of time allowed for individual creativity and personal growth. In addition, this newfound freedom allowed, for the first time on a large scale, many new women writers and readers. This new sense of independence was largely due to the fact that this was the first time America truly separated from Britain. The two most important writers of this period are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Walt Whitman lived from 1819 to 1892, during his period as an author; he was able to create some of the most influential literary works in American history. Walt Whitman is closely linked to the American Romantic movement because he used nature in many of his works. He believed that nature was the source of everything beautiful in the world. Whitman also believed that the natural world had power over itself and all others. A good example of this would be Walt Whitman's poem "When the lilacs last in the gate-yard bloomed" when he says: "O power... middle of paper ...... the last of them. writers talked about it and it was still very important to them. Although the writings of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman seem very different, they tend to share some common themes. Their views differ, however, both write about ordinary people and everyday events. Both of these writers are recognized American writers who played extremely important roles during an extremely important time in American history. References Dickinson, Emily. “Because I couldn’t stop and die.” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177119. Retrieved December 20, 2013. Whitman, Walt. “When the lilacs last in the yard, they bloom.” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174748. Retrieved December 21, 2013. Werner, Marta L. "Three American Poets: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville." Leviathan 14.2 (2012): 81-7. ProQuest. Internet. December 20. 2013.
Navigation
« Prev
1
2
3
4
5
Next »
Get In Touch