Walt Whitman - poet of freedom

            Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819. He is considered one of the most significant poets in American literature of 19th century. His most famous work Leaves of Grace is maybe one of the best collection of poems in modern literature written in free verse. In his work, he was celebrated free life, body and soul, nature living, always trying to find a beauty even in death. His work was very controversial, because of obscene verses, especially in his most famous work Leaves of Grace.   

Walt Whitman, great American poet SOURCE

Walt Whitman has really interesting life. He was doing a lot of manual jobs, he was working like a journalist, teacher, nurse in war. All those jobs, where he was included in society whit real people, contributed to his poetic work. In his poems people are free and natural and they have real needs. Because of that he is realistic and modern in the same time. 

In the moment when his brother was included in a war, he noticed that he will be more needed there then in society out of war. So, he wanted to feel all layers of society and all types of people. Because of that his poetic work was so popular in America in his time. He was celebrated free American man. We can say that he is poet of freedom and nature love.   

Works before Leaves of Grace

  His first published work was one temperance novel with the name Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate. That’s a story about young man, who comes from the Long Island to the New York City searching for better life. Like every young man, he was naïve, included in bad society, with alcoholism and drugs. This is a journey of young man life who is learning in his own mistakes. Story about man who is rises and falls, searching for ideas and ideals.      

Walt Whitman signature SOURCE

Except this novel, there is one very interesting story about his second work Life and Adventures of Jack Engle. He wrote this novel, working like a printer, quard, physical worker. History of this novel is more than interesting. He was written by Walt Whitman 1952, then he was lost until 2016, when he was founded by Zakari Terpin from the University of Huston. Following newspaper’s articles in Congress library in New York City, he founded novel in sequels for which it turned out that is novel of Walt Whitman. 

That is a story about young man in New York and his adventures. In the same time that is hard story about children without parents, about love and destiny. He published this novel under a pseudonym in one American newspaper. A lot of people think that it can be some kind of his autobiographical story.  

Walt Whitman as a young man SOURCE

  Man who presented to the world public Life and Adventures of Jack Engle, few years ago in Congress library was founded a lot of Whitmans articles and published them in one book named Manly Health. Those articles are about American man, about his healthy body, his obligations and bad habits. Whitman is giving advices how you can live nature life, waking up in the morning, thinking just about good things. He is giving advices about food, practising, dancing.     

Leaves of grass

  After a lot of prose works, Walt Whitman decided to become a poet and he becomes one of the most significant Americans and worlds poet. His collection of poems Leaves of Grace represents the beginning of modern expression in world literature. Somebody calls him father of modern verses. He is not modern just in expression of language, his modernism is first founded in free ideas and his understanding of man and society. 

He wanted to write American epic, story about American man and his position in the modern world. Maybe we can say that Leaves of Grace are some kind of modern mythology. Mythology of people who is searching for nature in modern world and trying to find themselves somewhere outside of society. 

However, Whitman doesn’t speak about society in bad way, he is celebrating American man, like a free man in a free country. He is writes about individual potential as biggest source of every country. We couldn’t say that Whitman poets are society poets, they are primarly metaphysical. He is writening about some kind of small cosmos, made by nature. Man in grass, is man in his real position. He is understanding metaphysical condition like perfect earth condition. He is speaking about real potential of soul to be present in everyday life.    

Walt Whitman on the first page of his poems SOURCE

  Walt Whitman published his first collection of poems by himself, in one local print shop during the break of theirs jobs. First tittle page was really unusual for a book. In the first page, we could see Walt Whitman, dressed like ordinary worker, but with suggestion of freedom and normal life. 

He was editing and revising his poems a lot of time until his death. This collection included twelve poems, of which the first takes more than more than half of the collection. The name of that song is:  Song of myself. In that poem "I" serves as narrator and from that position he is speaking about life, democracy, equality. He wanted to reconcile all layers of society, body and the soul, day and night. Maybe, we can say that he is poet of harmony.     

I am the poet of slaves and of masters of slaves… […]

I am the poet of the body and I am the poet of the soul. 

I go with the slaves of the earth equally with the masters. 

And I will stand between the master of the slaves, 

entering into both so that both will understand me. (Song of myself)      

Second edition of his poems. SOURCE

His poetry is faded by intellectualism, he is metaphysical but with great passion for the life - real life of real people.  

Whitman died on March 26, 1892, leaving an indelible mark in American and world poetry.     

  O captain, my captain 

              He wrote maybe the most famous poem after the death of Abraham Lincoln. Sadness and pain due to loss are the most important themes of this work. This song is being recited until our time in important American celebrations. This poem is famous maybe because of many references in popular culture. One of them is a movie Dead poets society with Robin Williams in main role. This movie is speaking about freedom of young people, like all the Whitmans poetry does.

Dead poets society, directed by Peter Weir  SOURCE