This Compost is one of the many Whitman poems we’ve read that moves along that Hegelian dialectical structure of ecstasy, crisis, and resolution. However, this one stands out in that it begins in crisis. The first section begins with the line “Something startles me where I thought I was safest,” after which a series of […]
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Whitman, Lincoln, and Lilacs
Whitman’s admiration of President Lincoln is widely acknowledged and can be seen throughout his works. In addition to several poems dedicated to the 16th President, Whitman also wrote much prose about Lincoln. In one lecture, “Death of Abraham Lincoln,” Whitman states that every year on the anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination he hopes to “hold its […]
War Now and Then
I know this post is a little bit belated but I thought this poem was interesting and worth sharing because it questions what is justifiable in times of war and poses some interesting issues that I feel like Whitman could really speak to. Bagram, Afghanistan, 2002 By: Marvin Bell The interrogation celebrated spikes and cuffs, […]
“O death, I cover you over with roses and early lilies…” (461)
In “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” Whitman juxtaposes mournful sentiments, alongside bright foliage, to demonstrate how death serves as a blessing in the face of war. At first, his approach spawn an eerie milieu, as he praises the environment in an idyllic manner, then mentions death in its midst. However, this poem comes […]
“With Walt Whitman at Fredericksburg” (Dave Smith)
Dave Smith’s “With Walt Whitman at Fredericksburg” offers a rather melancholy account of the current America the poet observes. Smith’s places himself alongside Whitman, in observation of he and Simpson as he outlines the shortcomings of the progress Whitman had in mind as America’s key to a better future. The images outlined are highly specific […]
Whitman on War: “Drum-Taps” & “Specimen Days”
Similarly to many writers and poets who have experienced war first-hand, Whitman writes a series of pieces of rather disturbing personal accounts he witnessed during his time as a nurse in the Civil War and his intimate thoughts about what he saw. Specifically, Whitman gives these accounts in two of his sections of poetry and prose […]
A Porter on the Trail
For this week’s extending the conversation presentation, I chose a poem by Larry Rottmann entitled, “A Porter on the Trail.” Initially, when I was searching for a ‘beyond’ poem to fit the theme of war and patriotism, I expected to choose a poem celebrating Whitman’s love for America. However, when I came across Rottmann’s poem, […]
Union of Man and Nature in “In Paths Untrodden”
Walt Whitman’s emphasis on the individual seems to be poignant yet again in “In Paths Untrodden”. Here, it seems society can limit an individual from doing what they truly want to do, or doing something that might not follow the “conformities” of society. It seems Whitman is saying that people are afraid to break the […]
“It’s me, Komunyakaa” a response to Whitman
After having much of his work compared to Whitman, Yusef Komunyakaa makes a direct address to one of the greatest influences of his writing. Though upon first glance their writing style is not identical or even very closely aligned, their content draw huge parallels. Komunyakaa writes shorter lines that have less repetition, less fluidity or […]
Whitman Between the Homosocial and Homoerotic
If anywhere in his poetry are we to find Whitman at his most frank about the experience of homosexual desire, it is in his Calamus sequence. In “In Paths Untrodden,” the poem which serves to open the sequence, we encounter Whitman celebrating “the need of comrades.” The exact nature of this comradeship resists clear and […]
