AmericanRealismandWaltWhitman教程.pptVIP

 Walt Whitman----A Story of Legend Birth and Early Career Born on 31 May 1819 near Huntington, Long Island, New York He was almost entirely self-educated, especially admiring the work of Dante, Shakespeare, and Homer. His mother described him as “very good, but very strange.” His brother described him as being “stubborner than a load of bricks.” Birth and Early Career Apprenticed to a printer. Taught school at 17. Editor of The Brooklyn Eagle, a respected newspaper, but was fired for his outspoken opposition to slavery. Civil War nurse. Influences: Literature and Music Italian opera: “Were it not for the opera, I could never have written Leaves of Grass.” Shakespeare, especially Richard III. The Bible Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus Literary Acquaintances Edgar Allan Poe William Cullen Bryant Amos Bronson Alcott Henry David Thoreau Emerson: Emerson helped Whitman to “find himself”: “I was simmering(煨，炖), simmering; Emerson brought me to a boil.” Whitman’s Main Works Leaves of Grass (1855-1891) Many Editions Beat! Beat! Drums! O, Captain, My Captain I hear American singing About Leaves of Grass The first edition of his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, appeared in 1855. Emerson praised Whitman’s poetry as “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet to contribute.” Even Thoreau was appalled by Whitman’s poetry, and he was certainly no conformist (follower)! Leaves of Grass 1855, 1 st edition, 12 poems, printed at his own expense 1856, 1860, 2 nd edition and 3 rd edition 1867, 4 th edition, Civil War poems 1871, 5 th edition, recognition in England and America 1876, 1881, 1889, 6 th edition, 7 th edition and 8 th edition 1892, 9 th edition, deathbed edition, containing all 400-odd poems The Image of grass (Section VI) common, can be seen everywhere, democratic world sturdy, vital; a sense of vitality of nature and America Brief Introduction to Leaves of Grass 《草叶集》是十九世纪美国作家惠特曼的浪漫主义诗集，诗集得名于集中这样的一句诗：“哪里有土，哪里有水，哪里就长着草。” 《