Comparison Between Dickinson and Whitman's View of the Sea.
Both poets, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, are writers of the same time; the Romantic one. Yet, even when they lived during the same era, the natures, as well as the looks of their poems are very much different. Emily Dickinson is a more private poet. When comparing “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” and “I started Early-Took My Dog” we clearly see the difference of those two aforementioned authors view of the sea. Walt Whitman feels comfortable with the sea as a natural element, gives it a female persona, understands both faces of nature and the sea, thinks himself in a relatively high position regarding the sea and finally reconciles himself with it. On the other hand, Emily Dickinson feels unwelcomed near the sea, gives it a male personification, does not fully understand the faces of both nature and the sea, feels inferior to it and never truly makes any useful connection with it either.
When reading Whitman’s “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” the first impression that we get is that he is more open to the sea and nature in general. He feels comfortable being near and even surrounded by it because from the beginning of the poem he places himself in the setting of a beach as his younger self. He has placed himself near the sea in a young age and that gives us the impression of comfort. Furthermore, he personifies the sea as female and more specifically a mother figure. This belief is solidified at the end of the poem when he refers to the sea as an “old crone rocking the cradle”. It is only logical to believe that the sea is a female in his mind because a woman is the one that rocks the cradle. Moreover, he understands both faces of the sea; the loving one and the angry one. We recognize this when he calls the sea a “fierce old mother” (133). It is both “fierce” and still it remains a “mother”. In addition, because of the motherly figure he has identified the sea as we recognize his view on what position he has placed himself in regarding the sea. He
When reading Whitman’s “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” the first impression that we get is that he is more open to the sea and nature in general. He feels comfortable being near and even surrounded by it because from the beginning of the poem he places himself in the setting of a beach as his younger self. He has placed himself near the sea in a young age and that gives us the impression of comfort. Furthermore, he personifies the sea as female and more specifically a mother figure. This belief is solidified at the end of the poem when he refers to the sea as an “old crone rocking the cradle”. It is only logical to believe that the sea is a female in his mind because a woman is the one that rocks the cradle. Moreover, he understands both faces of the sea; the loving one and the angry one. We recognize this when he calls the sea a “fierce old mother” (133). It is both “fierce” and still it remains a “mother”. In addition, because of the motherly figure he has identified the sea as we recognize his view on what position he has placed himself in regarding the sea. He