Walt Whitman Essay
Haleigh McCartney McCartney 1
Mrs. Rainey
Pre-AP English 11
9 April 2013
Heroes Among Us Walt Whitman had a knack for emitting heroic qualities, like those of soldiers, into average people. Whitman was a volunteer nurse in the Civil War and vividly relives his experiences from the hospital tents through his poetry and his characters. While a nurse, Whitman was advised by other, more experienced nurses to not build personal relationships with the patients. Walt Whitman did not heed these warnings and collected information from the soldiers. In his poem "A Sight in Camp Daybreak Gray and Dim", Whitman successfully portrays his thoughts about the war and the loss of human value (Bradford 6). Walt Whitman strongly believed every human had value and a purpose within America. He used those experiences from the hospital tents and the information he gathered from the hospital tents to create his masterpieces. One of the most obvious incorporations was Drum-Taps, later incorporated into Leaves of Grass, one of his most famous publications. Walt Whitman uses his ideas of war and soldiers fighting to influence the characters in his poetry by creating average people with heroic qualities.
Walt Whitman's Biography Walt Whitman was born in 1819 around Long Island, New York (Beers and Odell 361). Whitman is known as one of America's most influencial poets of his time (Folsom and Price). He wrote from the standpoint of an ordinary man, believing that everyone was an average person. He didn't view himself as being better than anyone else, which creates the form of writing he became famous for, average heroes. Whitman became known as the
McCartney 2
"father of free verse". He invented this form of poetry without a consistant rhyme scheme or meter. This was unheard of in the writing industry during the 1800s, but today it is one of the most popular forms of poetry.
Whitman's Life
Mrs. Rainey
Pre-AP English 11
9 April 2013
Heroes Among Us Walt Whitman had a knack for emitting heroic qualities, like those of soldiers, into average people. Whitman was a volunteer nurse in the Civil War and vividly relives his experiences from the hospital tents through his poetry and his characters. While a nurse, Whitman was advised by other, more experienced nurses to not build personal relationships with the patients. Walt Whitman did not heed these warnings and collected information from the soldiers. In his poem "A Sight in Camp Daybreak Gray and Dim", Whitman successfully portrays his thoughts about the war and the loss of human value (Bradford 6). Walt Whitman strongly believed every human had value and a purpose within America. He used those experiences from the hospital tents and the information he gathered from the hospital tents to create his masterpieces. One of the most obvious incorporations was Drum-Taps, later incorporated into Leaves of Grass, one of his most famous publications. Walt Whitman uses his ideas of war and soldiers fighting to influence the characters in his poetry by creating average people with heroic qualities.
Walt Whitman's Biography Walt Whitman was born in 1819 around Long Island, New York (Beers and Odell 361). Whitman is known as one of America's most influencial poets of his time (Folsom and Price). He wrote from the standpoint of an ordinary man, believing that everyone was an average person. He didn't view himself as being better than anyone else, which creates the form of writing he became famous for, average heroes. Whitman became known as the
McCartney 2
"father of free verse". He invented this form of poetry without a consistant rhyme scheme or meter. This was unheard of in the writing industry during the 1800s, but today it is one of the most popular forms of poetry.
Whitman's Life