Walt Whitman Reflection

Walt Whitman has a very special and unique poetic writing style. In a biography of Whitman in the Glencoe Literature book it says, “Whitman’s poetry was realistic, free-flowing, and shockingly candid.”(Glencoe 408) He was one of the first poets to write in free verse. He did not follow the any certain pentameter, and each poem has its own exclusive cadence. The cadence was similar to regular human speech, not at all like to poems from previous writing styles. The book says, “He was the first poet in English to write extensively in free verse, an open, unregulated form that reflected the cadences of everyday speech.”(Glencoe 408) Walt Whitman’s writing style is reflected will in his poem “I Hear America Singing”

“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,”(Whitman 410)

As you can see there is no distinguishable rhyme scheme. The words are not exactly like someone is speaking them, but the cadence is more the same. Whitman wrote about himself in many of his poems he used his own experiences to manufacture a kind of poetry that celebrated the American spirit. When Whitman was young, he spent his time wandering along the streets of Manhattan.(Glencoe 408) We had many jobs such as: an office boy, a doctor’s assistant, printers assistant and journalist. He with those experiences and from wandering the streets Whitman really captured the American spirit. (Glencoe 408) It is evident that this is the way that Whitman got the idea for the poem “I Hear America Singing”. The way Whitman writes the lines almost the same as someone was saying them to you. He knows the familiar sounds that are incorporated with each laborer’s job. He knows the familiar sound of the mechanics steel tools against the motor, and the sound of the carpenter’s hammer and saw. He makes the reader remember the sound of the mason mixing the mortar, and laying the bricks. Because of Whitman’s unique writing style he is easier to relate to. His easy speech cadence makes it better to listen to, and easier to read. Whitman was a very accomplished writer and poet, but because people saw his work as radical. Whitman was a revolutionary in poetry. No one really read his work when it was first published. Those who read it saw it as offensive and made others upset. They did not like the way that he gave such a personal opinion in his works. The negative critics did not pull him down however. After a few decades people began to realize the impact of his works, and he has become a lasting impact on succeeding writing styles. Whitman’s early publications were so good that Ralph Waldo Emerson took notice of him and that Whitman’s writings were, “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has contributed yet.”(Glencoe 408) That is saying a lot coming from the most influential and well known writer of the Transcendentalism period.

Glencoe. "Before You Read." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Whitman, Walt. "I Hear America Singing." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.