美国浪漫主义文学.doc

Walt Whitman Emily Dickinson Remark They were called the first two pure American poets because they together initiated a daring experiment both in poetic theme and technique, hence creating a special American tradition in poem writing. Thematically, both extolled an emergent America, her expansion, individualism, Americanness. Technically, both break free from the conventional iambic pentameter, exhibited a freedom in form unknown before, and added to the literary independence of the new nation. ( Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892) an poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. a figure between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. one of the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Life story Born on May 31, 1819, the second son of a house-builder, on Long Island, New York; Largely self-taught, he read voraciously, becoming acquainted with the works of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Thirsting for experiences, Whitman tried a variety of jobs and picked up a first-hand knowledge of life and people in the new world. He worked as an office boy, a printer’s apprentice, schoolmaster, printer editor, journalist, and volunteer nurse in the Civil War In 1855, the first edition of Leaves of Grass came out and made a stir on the American literary scene. Whitman struggled to support himself through most of his life. In Washington he lived on a clerks salary. After his death on March 26, 1892, Whitman was buried in a tomb he designed and had built on a lot in Harleigh Cemetery. Major works Leaves of Grass Whitman’s epic, which broke with the poetic convention and received harsh criticism for its sexuality and exotic and vulgar language; The book went through 9 editions altogether: 1855, 1856, 1860, 1867, 1871, 1876, 1881, 1889, 1891-1892 ( the Deat