The American Renaissance

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American Renaissance
Question 1
Both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were expert writers of the romanticism genre. They captured the core aspects of the genre that included the importance of the individual as compared to the society, how nature is seen as a source of truth and rebellion against authority. Emily Dickinson, in particular, highlighted the importance of nature in the genre in several poems. She mentions or compares some things to nature. One such poem is I died for Beauty-but was scarce, where she refers to the moss, which covers the graves of tombstones. She referred to these as tombstones as being of “truth” and “beauty.” There was also an element of rebellion in her poems. She did this by constantly referring to nature in many of her poems. She went against established authority of the Puritans who saw nature as the realm of the devil. She was rebelling against the Puritans who she highly disliked. In much the same way, Whitman also wrote poems that focused on similar themes. He wished to talk about himself and celebrate his individuality. He felt that the self was more important than everything else was, including the society. In his poem, Leaves of Grass, he talks about the “I” and “myself” which showed how much importance he placed on the self. His love for nature can also be seen in how he speaks about flora and fauna, the moon and the sun. It is apparent that he believes that man and nature should never be separated and that man is a child of nature.

Question 2
Parallelism is a common feature in Walt Dickinson’s poems. He uses it very effectively in Leaves of grass. A simple definition of parallelism is using a similar pattern of words in two or more sentences to show that the ideas brought out in the sentences have equal importance. The words may be similar in meaning, sound or construction. His opening stanza in the poem contains parallelism. “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume.”CITATION Whi55 p 13 l 1033 (Whitman 13) This verse also contains lines of varying length and words that are repeated. Parallelism creates a balance and enables an author to present his work in a clear, concise and smooth manner. Repetition, on the other hand, is purely for emphasis on anything that the writer considers as important. Varied sentence structure achieves certain purposes such as the creation of tension and building suspense. They also make the work more diverse.
Question 3
Emily Dickinson was renowned for using styles that were not conventional. One such style was the use of capitalization. Although it had always been a trend, she employed it not only for proper nouns but also at the middle of some of her poems’ verses. This was meant to have achieved the purpose of stressing the importance of the word or thing the word referred to. She also used the dash instead of the more standard, comma. Her poem, I’ll tell you how the sun rose depicts both of these characteristics. “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose – A Ribbon at a time –The steeples swam in Amethysts.” CITATION Dic10 p 64 l 1033 (Dickinson 64). She employs the use of capitalization and dash. Slant rhyme, where some of the verses do not rhyme, was also a familiar feature of her poems. The last words of the verses would have rhyming consonants but not vowels. It moved away from the traditional full rhyme and gave poets another dimension to writing.
Question 4
Dickinson depicted death as the bearer of truth and reality when everything else was so uncertain. It also showed the true nature of God and revealed the state of the soul. The poet saw the way a person died as representing his or her soul and that person’s state with God. If one died peacefully, then it could be argued that he or she was at peace with their soul and death. She also saw death as something to be feared and a dangerous trick that God had played on man. Despite all this, she found death comforting and a welcomed relief. In the lines “I heard a fly buzz when I died; The stillness round my form, Was like the stillness in the air” death is presented as terrifying.
Whitman only saw death as the doorway to another world. He gave it positive attributes instead of a negative outlook. He also saw death as the point or hallway where eternal life starts, and it gives a person the chance to join the everlasting cycle. He addresses it directly and is not fearful of it. “What do you think of the young and old men…They are alive and well somewhere.”CITATION Dic10 p 17 l 1033 (Dickinson 17)Question 5
Dickinson is my preferred poet. Her poems were quite magnificent, and the styles she used were unique is so many aspects. She used capitalization for emphasis in poems such as I’ll tell you how the sun rose. The use of stress and digression from the norm to use dashes and slant rhyme can be lauded as courageous. Her views on matters regarding death in poems such as I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died, and I felt a funeral were also unique. She had a profound love and awe for nature which also made her a brilliant poet. Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Dickinson, Emily. Dickinson. London: Harvard University Press, 2010. Print.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Minnesota: Eakins Press, 1855. Print.