• In the poem, I or myself, in its most limited sense, is Whitman himself; but in its largest and most frequent sense, it is generic and representative of all men. The image of this poem is panoramic(全景的), flowing and expanding without end. • Through the creation of multiple images, Whitman expresses his innermost being, the spirit of the age and country and the unity of all human experiences. • The structure of this poem is also original, different from the traditional poetic pattern. The movement of this poem is circular rather than linear.
Walt Whitman沃尔特· 惠特曼 (1819-1892)
▲He was one of the great innovators and pioneers in American poetry. ▲ an American famous poet
life
• Growing up in a working-class background in Brooklyn, New York, Whitman had very little education. • In 1840s, to pick up some first-hand knowledge of life and people, he worked as a shopkeeper, an apprentice to a printer and an editor of various newspapers. • In 1848, he visited New Orleans, Chicago and the western frontier and saw much of the Mississippi heartlands. This experience furnished both material and the guiding spirit for his epic, Leaves of Grass, the first edition of which (15poem) was published in 1855.
Song of Myself
• I celebrate myself, and sing myself, • And what I assume you shall assume, • For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
• • 我赞美我自己，歌唱我自己， 我承担的你也将承担， 因为属于我的每一个原 子也同样属于你。
His Masterpiece
◆ Leaves of Grass the first American genuine epic poem Went through nine editions altogether 443 most of them are about man and nature ◆ Song of myself （自我之歌）is the most often quoted poem ◆ when lilacs last in the dooryard bloom„d(最近紫丁香
• Creeds and schools in abeyance,
• Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten, I • harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard, • Nature without check with original energy信条和 学派暂时不论， 且后退一步，明了它们当前的情 况已足，但也决不是忘记， 不论我从善从恶，我 允许随意发表意见， 顺乎自然，保持原始的活力。
His Achievements
• Whitman was one of the most original and inspiring American poets, He devoted himself to poetry , eulogizing the native American experience. • Whitman tried to blend the world of science, the philosophy of democracy and the spiritual feeling of life into one, to incorporate these into his poetry . • As America's first genuine epic poem, Leaves of Grass ran nine editions with more than 400 poems all written in free verse form. • As a democratic poet , Whitman supported and sang highly of the democratization of the nation, favored the abolition of slavery, advocated equality and pursued truth.
Байду номын сангаас
I loaf and invite my soul,
• I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
• 我闲步，还邀请了我的灵魂， 我俯身悠然观察着一片夏日的草叶。
• My tongue, every atom of my blood, form„d from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, 我的舌，我血液的每个原子，是在这片土壤、这 个空气里形成的， 是这里的父母生下的，父母的 父母也是在这里生下的，他们的父母也一样， • I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to cease not till death. 我，现在三十七岁，一生下身体就十分健康， 希 望永远如此，直到死去。
The Features of His poems
1.For Whitman, the poetic form was to be organic, not restrained or disciplined. Therefore, he threw aside the traditional ornaments of verse and created his own form. 2.He used slang words and colloquial language . 3. In Whitman's poetry ,lines of the poems are often extremely long. 4. parallelism and impressive repetitions are widely used.
在庭院里开放的时候 ,悼念林肯的）
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oh, Captain, my Captain（悼念林肯的）
Free Verse ☆ He broke the convention of poetry and exhibited a free form, which is now called free verse. Free verse, also known as “open form” verse, is the verse without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme, depending on natural speech rhythms related to the actual cadence （韵律）of the poet expressing himself.
5.His poem are religious
6. His poetic structure is called the envelope structure. Often in Whitman's poetry, the first line begins with the subject, and then more and more lines list modifiers till the verb appears in the last line of the stanza. This is like enclosing a whole list of ideas in an envelope. 7. He used the catalogue technique. Catalogue means listing. Typical poems by Whitman make long, long lists of images, of sights, sounds, smells, taste, and touch. “I Hear America Singing,, is a very good example of the catalogue technique. He listed the song that every common person in America is singing. This is very unconventional and sometimes very boring. But when one uses it nicely, it is an effective technique.