alliej
Mar 21, 2013
Book Reports / Choosing truthful sincerity over idealism ; Frost and Whitman's works [2]
Any critique?
Choosing truthful sincerity over idealism, acclaimed poets Robert Frost and Walt Whitman, while from completely different eras and backgrounds, share many similarities. Both poets are praised for their examinations of philosophical and societal ideas. While Frost and Whitman share similar rural settings and focus on human interaction with nature, Frost uses strict form to convey his serious view of the world, whereas Whitman employs a more free verse structure to express his spirituality.
Frost's persona "was made year by year, poem by poem, of elements of the actual life Frost lived" (Dickey 1). Frost was a modernist who incorporated the realist style into his works. He wrote often of nature and rural life, which he regularly used as metaphors for larger ideas about society. Having experienced many difficult and traumatic events, such as "the decline and death of his alcoholic, ambitious father" (Dickey 1), and years later, the death of his first son and daughter (Ellis 2), Frost developed a rather serious tone and style of writing, Interestingly, Frost is described as having "a great deal of tenacity and courage"(Dickey 1), as well as a contrasting "a sullen self-righteousness" (Dickey 1). In order to cope with the many sorrows of his life, he sought to express himself through poetry. Frost was never financially well off and was a farmer for most of his life (Dickey 1), in spite of which he is often described as a "lazy man" (Dickey 1). This is "perhaps why images of work figure so strongly in his poems" (Dickey 1). Frost often focused on hard work in a rural setting because "he indulged in what with him was the only effective mode of self-defense he had been able to devise: the capacity to claim competence at the menial tasks he habitually shirked" (Dickey 1). It is Frost's life-long combination of farming and poetry that dictates his natural scenery and focus, which, combined with his sullen attitude following the many tragedies of his life influenced his tone and strict form.
Though having lived a generation earlier, Whitman's transcendentalist works were, like Frost, greatly influenced by the Realist movement. Many readers were "utterly startled by Whitman's irregular verse form" (Yamauchi 6). "Most could not fully understand his poems and more perceptive readers were distressed and sometimes outraged by the explicitness of Whitman's sensuality" (Yamauchi 6). This overt nature and irregular form create stark contrasts to Frost who often wrote in strict form. In regards to personality, Whitman was much more free spirited. "Traditional forms and conventions were cast off because Whitman felt that they narrowed poetry into a given course of expression utterly familiar and ineffectual" (Yamauchi 5). "To Whitman, honest expression would spontaneously dictate form and rhythm" (Yamauchi 5). In regards to focus, Whitman was very similar to Frost in his interest in country setting. Unlike Frost, who was simply accustomed to such a setting, Whitman was engrossed in such as setting because he "was most strongly attracted to working-class men, often with little education and a rural background" (Dynes 24). Whitman is known for being an open homosexual, which greatly influenced his works, some of which "grow out of a particular relationship, in which he sought eternal union with another man." (Dynes 23). This also influenced his lyrical style of writing. "One of Whitman's greatest loves was opera, and rhythms derived from its lyrical melodies and soaring emotions infuse his work" (Dynes 26).
Being from separate eras with completely different backgrounds, Frost and Whitman's works were both shaped by their unique experiences. Using completely different forms and structures, both share similar focuses on rural settings and themes of human philosophy.
Any critique?
Choosing truthful sincerity over idealism, acclaimed poets Robert Frost and Walt Whitman, while from completely different eras and backgrounds, share many similarities. Both poets are praised for their examinations of philosophical and societal ideas. While Frost and Whitman share similar rural settings and focus on human interaction with nature, Frost uses strict form to convey his serious view of the world, whereas Whitman employs a more free verse structure to express his spirituality.
Frost's persona "was made year by year, poem by poem, of elements of the actual life Frost lived" (Dickey 1). Frost was a modernist who incorporated the realist style into his works. He wrote often of nature and rural life, which he regularly used as metaphors for larger ideas about society. Having experienced many difficult and traumatic events, such as "the decline and death of his alcoholic, ambitious father" (Dickey 1), and years later, the death of his first son and daughter (Ellis 2), Frost developed a rather serious tone and style of writing, Interestingly, Frost is described as having "a great deal of tenacity and courage"(Dickey 1), as well as a contrasting "a sullen self-righteousness" (Dickey 1). In order to cope with the many sorrows of his life, he sought to express himself through poetry. Frost was never financially well off and was a farmer for most of his life (Dickey 1), in spite of which he is often described as a "lazy man" (Dickey 1). This is "perhaps why images of work figure so strongly in his poems" (Dickey 1). Frost often focused on hard work in a rural setting because "he indulged in what with him was the only effective mode of self-defense he had been able to devise: the capacity to claim competence at the menial tasks he habitually shirked" (Dickey 1). It is Frost's life-long combination of farming and poetry that dictates his natural scenery and focus, which, combined with his sullen attitude following the many tragedies of his life influenced his tone and strict form.
Though having lived a generation earlier, Whitman's transcendentalist works were, like Frost, greatly influenced by the Realist movement. Many readers were "utterly startled by Whitman's irregular verse form" (Yamauchi 6). "Most could not fully understand his poems and more perceptive readers were distressed and sometimes outraged by the explicitness of Whitman's sensuality" (Yamauchi 6). This overt nature and irregular form create stark contrasts to Frost who often wrote in strict form. In regards to personality, Whitman was much more free spirited. "Traditional forms and conventions were cast off because Whitman felt that they narrowed poetry into a given course of expression utterly familiar and ineffectual" (Yamauchi 5). "To Whitman, honest expression would spontaneously dictate form and rhythm" (Yamauchi 5). In regards to focus, Whitman was very similar to Frost in his interest in country setting. Unlike Frost, who was simply accustomed to such a setting, Whitman was engrossed in such as setting because he "was most strongly attracted to working-class men, often with little education and a rural background" (Dynes 24). Whitman is known for being an open homosexual, which greatly influenced his works, some of which "grow out of a particular relationship, in which he sought eternal union with another man." (Dynes 23). This also influenced his lyrical style of writing. "One of Whitman's greatest loves was opera, and rhythms derived from its lyrical melodies and soaring emotions infuse his work" (Dynes 26).
Being from separate eras with completely different backgrounds, Frost and Whitman's works were both shaped by their unique experiences. Using completely different forms and structures, both share similar focuses on rural settings and themes of human philosophy.