Walt Whitman writing style

Walt Whitman was a in tweener in the writing world because he was both a Realism writer and a modernism writer, which made his writing hard to classify. Walt Whitman was strongly influence by nature and the power of the world. This love of nature is something that relates to the realism period and also the romanticism period because of the great detail and descriptions. “O powerful, western, fallen star! O shades of night! O moody, tearful night! O great star disappear’d! O the black murk that hides the star. O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me! O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul!" ( http://www.everypoet.com). This is a descriptive element that falls into the realism period and also back in to the romanticism where describing the beauty in nature was very important. Walt Whitman uses realism writing in his poem "O Captain, My Captain" because it tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's death and the end of war. In "O Captain, My Captain" Whitman describes the reactions of the people after the war and the sadness he feels for the death of their leader, captain. "O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting," (Whitman). Whitman wrote several pieces of literature about the assassination of President Lincoln and the end of the Civil War because that is what he was knew. As a realism writer he wrote the truth and the truth of the that time was they had won the war and slavery was over. The assassination of Lincoln of course provoked a flood of writing—journalistic, biographical, poetic. Of the many poems then written,Whitman's memorials have lasted the best; and in considering what values they select, enact, and perpetuate, I want to ask by what aesthetic means they make those values last beyond the momentary topical excitement of Lincoln's death (Vendler).

Whitman's fascination with the death of his leader influenced much of his writing and also had some modernism parts to them. Modernism was shaped by discoveries in science and advancements in technology and various fields of thought that began to develop in the nineteenth century (Anderson). Whitman discussed modernism in Leaves of Grass "Victory, union, faith, identity, time, The indissoluble compacts, riches, mystery, Eternal progress, the kosmos, and the modern reports. This then is life,”(Anderson). The modernism writing of the kosmos and the modern report are a part of this modern style they were new forms of technology and advancements in the country. We can also say that the Civil War was a part of the modernism writing in that the slaves became free and this was an advancement for them. Walt Whitman was a very creative writer and he fits into many of the different genres and styles of American writing from writing in the Romanticism period to the Modernism period. Walt Whitman was extreme inspiring and loved his country and this is seen by all of the poems about his country such as my favorite "O Captain, My Captain".

"O Captain! My Captain!, by Walt Whitman." Poetry Archive. Web. 09 Mar. 2012.

Archive of Classic Poems." Poetry of Walt Whitman; Full-text Poems of Walt Whitman, including Leaves of Grass, at Everypoet.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .

Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Vendler, Helen. "Poetry and the Mediation of Value: Whitman on Lincoln." Michigan Quarterly Review 39 (Winter 2000): 1–18. Quoted as "Poetry and the Mediation of Value: Whitman on Lincoln" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Walt Whitman, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.