Whitman-惠特曼-作品-介绍-英文版.pptVIP

Life Contribution Influence Works Walter Whitman was born in 1819 in Long Island ,the second son of a house-builder. Largely self-taught, he read voraciously, becoming acquainted with the works of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and the Bible. In the fall of 1848, he founded a “Free Soil newspaper, the Brooklyn Freeman, and continued to develop the unique style of poetry. In 1855, Whitman took out a copyright on the first edition of Leaves of Grass. During the Civil War ,Whitman worked as a volunteer nurse. Whitman died in 1892 because of his bad health ,he was buried in Harleigh(哈利公墓). Contribution One of the great innovators in American literature. He gave America its first genuine epic poem: Leaves of Grass. He created the “ Free verse ” : the verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern, the verse without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. Influence Through him, American poets finally freed themselves from the old English traditions. His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture. He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history. Contemporary American poetry, whatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence. Works Mainly works Leaves of Grass O Captain! My Captain! Mainly works Leaves of Grass Song of Myself I hear America singing Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking Drum Taps O Captain! My Captain! Leaves of Grass The title Features Themes Leaves of Grass Leaves of Grass Equality Divinity Multiplicity Self-reliant spirit Death ,beauty of death Expansion of America Brotherhood and social solidarity Pursuit of love and happiness 1. Background At the end of the Civil War in 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the symbol of democracy and progress, was assassinated by the obstinate slave owners of the south states. Lincoln’s death shocked the whole country. The democratic poet Walt Whitman wrote the poetry collection Elegy Collect (including O Captain! My Captain! and When Lilacs Last