¶ … Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson project, in their poetry, an individual identity that achieves its power from within, thus placing a premium on the individual self. Ironically, this premium on the individual self was very much in vogue in America at the time; from Emerson to the early pioneers of 19th century industrialism. As a result, their projections of individual power were greatly influenced by the culture in which they live in. This is just one way in which cultural power influences individual power. Another way this occurs in their poetry has to do with their treatment of gender. America during the late 19th century can be characterized as a time of great social upheaval, but also as a time when gender roles were still very much strictly prescribed. Both Whitman and Dickinson, while challenging the cultural assumptions about gender in the late 19th century, also project an individual identity, perhaps even unbeknownst to them, that very much keeps in line with those very cultural assumptions. The individual identity projected in their poetry is influenced by cultural power; Whitman and his individual identity of masculine virility and Dickinson and her individual identity of feminine domesticity. Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson in their poetry project an individual identity, that while defined in opposition to cultural norms, are nonetheless greatly influenced by the ideas and rhetoric circulating through American culture at the time.
In Whitman's groundbreaking poem "Song of Myself" he projects an individual identity that defines itself in opposition to society. As he boisterously proclaims,
People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the ward and city I live in, or the nation, the latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and new, My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues, the real or fancied indifference of some man or women I love... These come to me days and nights and go from me again, but they are not the Me myself. Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am"(page #).
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Dickinson, however, approaches art and nature in a much different way. She does not attempt to assert herself or set herself up as "Amerian Poet" the way that Whitman does. Instead she wrote her poetry without ever once doing so for fame or fortune. She meditated on her relationship to her surroundings, her understanding of beauty, her admiration for truth, her appreciation of the essence of things. "The Sailor cannot
The spider is working upon a canvas, referring to it as an "Arc of White" (Dickinson 3) and the mood of the poem is that the spider is quite content to be this way. The spider is working at night and it is the only thing that can contribute to his project. The spider is grounded in his task and while it might look as though there is no
American Literature Listen to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God preached. Discuss in the discussion group. Jonathan Edwards gives us a perfect example of the Calvinist beliefs of the Puritan settlers in early New England. Edwards studied theology at Yale University -- where today there is still a dormitory named after him -- but then became a noteworthy preacher in the Great Awakening, which exhorted an entire generation to renew
Further, I believe the best American (and other) literature, has always done that, and does that now, within any age. However, I also do not feel that American literature should do anything different from other national literatures (except to spring, which it would and does naturally) from the distinct environment in which it was or is written). It should definitely not be confined, either, to focusing only on American topics
So alike yet distinct did these early writers create, that they are now required reading in British schools (Duquette). In terms of religion, American culture emulated Britain less than many of the early settler were reactionary against British conservatism. Several of the original 13 Colonies were established by English, Irish, and Scottish settlers who were fleeing religious persecution. By 1787, in fact, the United States became one of the first
Poe and the Imp of the Perverse The Imp of the Perverse Edgar Allan Poe is known for exploring the psychological constructs of horror and terror through his short stories. In Poe's "Imp of the Perverse," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Black Cat," the respective narrators of these stories attempt to give a logical explanation for the manner in which they conducted themselves. Through these stories, Poe explores the impact a mental
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