Dickinson vs. Whitman
During the mid-1800s, a new philosophical movement developed in New England. Led by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, transcendentalism is a set of beliefs that states that there is good in both man and nature and that society corrupts the individual making him less self-reliant and independent. There were two distinct poets of this time period. Emily Dickinson, a solitary poet from a small town in Massachusetts, gained her fame after much of her poems were published after her death. Along with, Walt Whitman, an outgoing poet who wrote on the basis of free verse, and Dickinson are considered to be one of the most influential poets of his time period. Their poems were the foundation of modern American history as they laid out a template from which newer poetry arose. They both accepted transcendentalism and many times incorporated the beliefs into their poems. Although both Whitman and Dickinson emphasized the idea of individualism in their poems, Dickinson embraces transcendentalism more than Whitman. She believes that man is as his best when he is lonely and incomplete solitude, while Whitman accepts little encounters with society and its institutions.
The themes in many of Dickinson’s and Whitman’s poetry can be related to the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25th, 1803 and quickly developed a doctrine of transcendentalism. By the mid 19th century he saw himself leading the movement with many of his classic essays. Two of these, “Nature” and “Self-Reliance” directly connect to transcendentalist thought and to the poetry of this time period. “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society, “(Emerson). The statement taken from “Nature,” Emerson says that one must leave his home in society altogether to be alone. He goes on saying further in the paragraph that once the individual is completely in solitude that one will experience the natural gift of nature and be truly self-reliant. This directly correlates with other essay, “Self-Reliance,” as he explains the core beliefs of individualism. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius,”(Emerson). In this particular statement of the essay, Emerson says that in order for someone to reach his own potential, one must believe in himself and to believe that what he thinks is true. He goes on saying that this can only be accomplished in a solitude setting which parallels the core belief of individualism.
Along with Emerson, Thoreau also led to transcendentalist movement. For the Concord, Massachusetts, Thoreau, like Emerson found himself creating a doctrine for the transcendentalist movement. The two wrote essays as well as novels to explain the philosophy to the public. Two major pieces that stand out, Walden and “Civil Disobedience,” also directly correlate to the poetry of the time period such as the works of Dickinson and Whitman. “I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only,”(Thoreau). In Walden, Thoreau describes his lonely life in which he lived alone in the woods for over two years. He explains in his book the benefits of living such a solitary life and how the common man neglects to see the benefits of living with nature and being self-reliant.
These themes along with many others, can be seen in Whitman's writing and poetry. “I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you / And you must not be abased to the other / Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat” (82-84). Here Whitman explains his transcendentalist thought. He is basically had a conversation with his own soul. He tilts his soul that he is fully committed to only it and other things such as day-to-day worries do not enter his mind. He invites his soul to come with him to the grass to be in solitude. He is so wrapped up within himself that he is unaware of the outside society and thus it's completely alone a main characteristic of transcendentalism. However, sometimes his mind drifts away from what he believes in and sometimes acknowledges many of institutions of society. A cause for this could be his erratic and outgoing personality which leads into you intertwine with many features of a society. One constantly reoccurring theme in the “Song of Myself” is Whitman's views on politics and American general.
Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the
same. (106-109).
Here we see Whitman distracted from this traditional train of thought to engaging in politics. In the previous section he tried to find out what the grass he was laying on really meant. He looks at the grass and he notices that it is very uniform (“Uniform Hieroglyphic”). He then compares this to the race of people. Because the grass is uniform he believes that humans black or white are the same. He then encourages for grass to be a national symbol for America. Examples of this show how sometimes Whitman's mind is clouded with political thoughts and thinking about society which goes against transcendentalist thought.
Unlike Whitman, Emily Dickinson is more consistent throughout her poetry and embraces more of the transcendentalist thought by not having gestures toward society and being truly self-reliant. No doubt that her lonely personality forces her to be this way.
There is a solitude of space
A solitude of sea
A solitude of death, but these
Society shall be
Compared with that profounder site (1-5).
In the first part of the poem, “There is a solitude of space,” Dickinson says that society can be made to provide a solitude state. In order for one to achieve this, he or she must completely ignore the people around them. Even though one is in proximity of others, he or she still has anonymity of privacy. She goes on further saying that in the final stages of this practice, death will provide purist form of removal from society. This hard practice leads the individual to be completely within him or herself and truly self-reliant. This however is used in a metaphorical way as Dickinson explains what being alone truly means. Here she says that solitude can come within the mind and does not have to be physical. Overall, Dickinson is more consistent throughout her poetry aloud solitude and individualism then Whitman.
Looking back on poetry both written by Dickinson and Whitman, it can be concluded that although they both take into consideration about the core beliefs of transcendentalism firstly established by Emerson and Thoreau, Dickinson clearly expresses transcendentalism more than Whitman. Although Whitman addresses being in a state of solitude, he sometimes is clouded by politics and institutions of society. Dickinson however, is more focused on being self-reliant altogether in society or not.
Works Cited
"Civil Disobedience." Thoreau Reader. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Emily Dickinson - There Is a Solitude of Space." American Poems. 9 Jan. 2004. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson." Oregon State University. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm>.
"WALT WHITMAN (1819-1892)." A Buddhist Library. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
During the mid-1800s, a new philosophical movement developed in New England. Led by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, transcendentalism is a set of beliefs that states that there is good in both man and nature and that society corrupts the individual making him less self-reliant and independent. There were two distinct poets of this time period. Emily Dickinson, a solitary poet from a small town in Massachusetts, gained her fame after much of her poems were published after her death. Along with, Walt Whitman, an outgoing poet who wrote on the basis of free verse, and Dickinson are considered to be one of the most influential poets of his time period. Their poems were the foundation of modern American history as they laid out a template from which newer poetry arose. They both accepted transcendentalism and many times incorporated the beliefs into their poems. Although both Whitman and Dickinson emphasized the idea of individualism in their poems, Dickinson embraces transcendentalism more than Whitman. She believes that man is as his best when he is lonely and incomplete solitude, while Whitman accepts little encounters with society and its institutions.
The themes in many of Dickinson’s and Whitman’s poetry can be related to the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25th, 1803 and quickly developed a doctrine of transcendentalism. By the mid 19th century he saw himself leading the movement with many of his classic essays. Two of these, “Nature” and “Self-Reliance” directly connect to transcendentalist thought and to the poetry of this time period. “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society, “(Emerson). The statement taken from “Nature,” Emerson says that one must leave his home in society altogether to be alone. He goes on saying further in the paragraph that once the individual is completely in solitude that one will experience the natural gift of nature and be truly self-reliant. This directly correlates with other essay, “Self-Reliance,” as he explains the core beliefs of individualism. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius,”(Emerson). In this particular statement of the essay, Emerson says that in order for someone to reach his own potential, one must believe in himself and to believe that what he thinks is true. He goes on saying that this can only be accomplished in a solitude setting which parallels the core belief of individualism.
Along with Emerson, Thoreau also led to transcendentalist movement. For the Concord, Massachusetts, Thoreau, like Emerson found himself creating a doctrine for the transcendentalist movement. The two wrote essays as well as novels to explain the philosophy to the public. Two major pieces that stand out, Walden and “Civil Disobedience,” also directly correlate to the poetry of the time period such as the works of Dickinson and Whitman. “I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only,”(Thoreau). In Walden, Thoreau describes his lonely life in which he lived alone in the woods for over two years. He explains in his book the benefits of living such a solitary life and how the common man neglects to see the benefits of living with nature and being self-reliant.
These themes along with many others, can be seen in Whitman's writing and poetry. “I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you / And you must not be abased to the other / Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat” (82-84). Here Whitman explains his transcendentalist thought. He is basically had a conversation with his own soul. He tilts his soul that he is fully committed to only it and other things such as day-to-day worries do not enter his mind. He invites his soul to come with him to the grass to be in solitude. He is so wrapped up within himself that he is unaware of the outside society and thus it's completely alone a main characteristic of transcendentalism. However, sometimes his mind drifts away from what he believes in and sometimes acknowledges many of institutions of society. A cause for this could be his erratic and outgoing personality which leads into you intertwine with many features of a society. One constantly reoccurring theme in the “Song of Myself” is Whitman's views on politics and American general.
Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the
same. (106-109).
Here we see Whitman distracted from this traditional train of thought to engaging in politics. In the previous section he tried to find out what the grass he was laying on really meant. He looks at the grass and he notices that it is very uniform (“Uniform Hieroglyphic”). He then compares this to the race of people. Because the grass is uniform he believes that humans black or white are the same. He then encourages for grass to be a national symbol for America. Examples of this show how sometimes Whitman's mind is clouded with political thoughts and thinking about society which goes against transcendentalist thought.
Unlike Whitman, Emily Dickinson is more consistent throughout her poetry and embraces more of the transcendentalist thought by not having gestures toward society and being truly self-reliant. No doubt that her lonely personality forces her to be this way.
There is a solitude of space
A solitude of sea
A solitude of death, but these
Society shall be
Compared with that profounder site (1-5).
In the first part of the poem, “There is a solitude of space,” Dickinson says that society can be made to provide a solitude state. In order for one to achieve this, he or she must completely ignore the people around them. Even though one is in proximity of others, he or she still has anonymity of privacy. She goes on further saying that in the final stages of this practice, death will provide purist form of removal from society. This hard practice leads the individual to be completely within him or herself and truly self-reliant. This however is used in a metaphorical way as Dickinson explains what being alone truly means. Here she says that solitude can come within the mind and does not have to be physical. Overall, Dickinson is more consistent throughout her poetry aloud solitude and individualism then Whitman.
Looking back on poetry both written by Dickinson and Whitman, it can be concluded that although they both take into consideration about the core beliefs of transcendentalism firstly established by Emerson and Thoreau, Dickinson clearly expresses transcendentalism more than Whitman. Although Whitman addresses being in a state of solitude, he sometimes is clouded by politics and institutions of society. Dickinson however, is more focused on being self-reliant altogether in society or not.
Works Cited
"Civil Disobedience." Thoreau Reader. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Emily Dickinson - There Is a Solitude of Space." American Poems. 9 Jan. 2004. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson." Oregon State University. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm>.
"WALT WHITMAN (1819-1892)." A Buddhist Library. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.