Walt Whitman (Live and Legacies)

172 Pages·2005·1.38 MB·English

by  David S. Reynolds

Walt Whitman
David S. Reynolds
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
WA L T W H I T M A N
L I V E S A N D L E G A C I E S

Larzer Ziff
M A R K T W A I N
David S. Reynolds
W A L T W H I T M A N
W A L T W H I T M A N

David S. Reynolds
2005
Oxford New York

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Copyright © 2005 by David S. Reynolds

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reynolds, David S., 1948–

Walt Whitman / David S. Reynolds.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0–19–517009–1

1. Whitman, Walt, 1819–1892.

2. Whitman, Walt, 1819–1892—Knowledge and learning.

3. Literature and history—United States History—19th century.

4. Literature and society—United States History—19th century.

5. United States Civilization—19th century.

6. Poets, American—19th century—Biography.

I. Title.

PS32231.R475 2005

811'.3—dc22 2004006715

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Printed in the United States of America

on acid-free paper
To my wife, Suzanne, and our daughter, Aline, with love
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v i i i CP ROENFTAECNET S
P R E F A C E
THE AMERICAN AUTHOR WALT WHITMAN (1819–92) CHANGED THE
course of poetry. Generally recognized as the father of free verse,
he liberated poetry from rhyme and meter, opening it up to the
flexible rhythms of feeling and voice. Championing himself as
the “bard” of American democracy, he represented in his writ­
ings the total range of experience. He was the first poet to treat
sex candidly and to explore same-sex love with subtlety. Among
the other distinctive features of his poetry were his all-embracing
persona, his imaginative vocabulary, and his sweeping catalogs
that juxtaposed crisp vignettes of people, places, and things.
The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called Whitman’s vol­
ume Leaves of Grass “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wis­
dom America has yet contributed,” saying that it had “the best
1
merits, namely, of fortifying and encouraging.” Few writers illu­
minate the miraculous nature of everyday life as powerfully as
Whitman does. Whitman once said, “I stand for the sunny point
2
of view—stand for the joyful conclusions.” “Cheer!” he declared.
“Is there anything better in this world anywhere than cheer—just
cheer? Any religion better?—Any art? Just cheer!” Although his
verse encompassed the dark features of experience—death, insan­
ity, loneliness, spiritual torment—it ultimately affirmed the de­
light and sanctity of life.
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