...Student’s Name Professor Course Name Date Walt Whitman, Man of Influence Introduction Walt Whitman’s literary works have occupied the highest place in the world of American literature. He has been recognized as the focal center of creativity having truly American experience in the literary expression. Although a late bloomer in the literature world, Whitman embodies the elements of indigenous realism and the New England philosophy which makes him a truly national spiritual synthesis. His works touched on the trying times in the American history during the civil war and a story that influenced the society in many ways. Though a very individualistic poet, his works have influenced many other modern poets, who take after his style and themes. The most exceptional characteristic feature of his work is that he endeavored to always produce a mystical vision where everything was a part of something bigger and was equal in every aspect. Walt Whitman, indeed, embodies many qualities that highlight the real American character like viciousness, diversity, love for adventure and the ever pioneering fortitude of the American people. He is a symbol of variety, largeness and the tendency toward innovation. Brief History Walt Whitman was born on May 31st, 1819 in West Hills, a village near Hempstead in Long Island, New York. His mother, Louisa Van Velsor was a farmer, while his father, Walter Whitman was a carpenter. The family moved to Brooklyn where Walt attended school. He left...
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...“Nature” of Allen Ginsberg - Hear Our HOWL There are a lot of things that can be expressed from the mind. How the thoughts are presented through the mouth of the individual can be interpreted in many ways. Is the person upset? Is the person trying to make a point that can only be understood by a certain group of individuals? What is the message they are trying to convey? In Allen Ginsberg’s poem: HOWL, he expresses his outlook on the world in a run-on, angry, and a derogatory fashion combination which make up the theme of reformation: being a non-conformist himself in a set-ruled based 1950s society. HOWL has a unique nature to it. It projects Ginsberg’s anarchistic view on reality’s “social” standing. HOWL sort of reflects on how Allen Ginsberg views the world. Ginsberg is one of the most renowned poets of his time and an iconic figure of the Beat generation. As an activist, he was very open about what he believes in – anti-war, homosexuality and so on. When he moved to San Francisco in 1954, he joined a clique that sought out to “eschew rigid rules of...
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...society was working for. These men were Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassidy. They were a group of "struggling writers, students, hustlers, and drug addicts" (Wikipedia.com) better known as the "beats", and the founding fathers of the beat generation. Jack Kerouac is often seen as the leading pioneer of the beats. Kerouac was born in 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Lowell was a small town, and "out of the raw outline of the legend he made out of his life in Lowell is simple and uncomplicated" (Charters 23). Kerouac had wild and vivid fantasies of making his life a legend. "He was always adapting roles, always an outsider, a spectator peering into the window like a shadow" (Charters 29). Life in Lowell would be no material for a legend, but life in New York would be. It was in New York that Kerouac was introduced to William S. Burroughs. He would become the biggest influence on Jack's life at the time. Burroughs was a writer as well, but never considered himself one. He had interest in experimenting with criminal behavior, and often had contacts in the criminal "underground". However, His confidence and style awed Kerouac. Kerouac would leave New York and later return in October of 1944. Through a mutual friend, he would encounter a "spindly Jewish kid with horn-rimmed glasses and tremendous ears sticking out" (Charters 53) this kid would be Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Burroughs friendship only became stronger of the years. The three often...
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...Madness as Religious Experience: The Case of Allen Ginsberg Author(s): Martin Wasserman Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Summer, 1982), pp. 145-151 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27505671 . Accessed: 14/06/2012 10:29 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Religion and Health. http://www.jstor.org Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 21, No. 2, Summer 1982 Madness Experience: Ginsberg as Religious The Case of Allen MARTIN WASSERMAN to be a religious Various writers have considered madness On the basis ABSTRACT: experience. in the area with literature and conversations it is argued that of the psychiatric patients, as a four-stage as a religious can be viewed The four madness process. experience developmental are: 1) The state hurt-and-be-hurt of being, self-induced 2) The stages experience, psychedelic 3) The clarify psychotic...
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...howl in pain. In HOWL, Allen Ginsberg illustrates his and his companions, the Beats’ experiences during the 1950’s. HOWL is broken down into three different parts that each depict different emotions. Ginsberg has been to different places that it seems like he is trying to escape, or looking for a place that will dissipate the feeling of loneliness. He has a tendency to travel to many different places but he always ends up coming back to himself. After the chaos that is World War II that rattled America, changes started to flower into society. During the postwar in the U.S, new poetry styles...
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...college paper Through out the beat literature you can find recurring themes like religion that make the different stories/poems very similar. The beat generation rejects the American culture that covers up the disasters that are happening. They turned to Buddhism for peace. A big group of people called “the beats” went off the mainstream path and started doing things that were not typical to do during that time period. Some things that were not mainstream was the beats started to practice Buddhism and the way they write their stories and poem for example the style and run on sentences. The members of the Beat Generation rejected mainstream Western traditions because they felt those traditions were covering up what was wrong in 1950s America. Through out the different beat literatures there are many references where the beats reject Western traditions and went off the mainstream path. In the Note on Religious Tendencies by Gary Snyder that the Beat Generation do “experimentation with narcotics […] and intelligent use of drugs.” (Religious Tendencies) This demonstrates the Beats would rather not follow the mainstream path and would rather do different things like try different kinds of drugs and experiment with them. The Beats wanted to push themselves away from being with the mainstream people. They want to do different things even if they were not acceptable. Trying the different drugs showed that the Beats were doing something different and were not following the mainstream...
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...Super Sad True Love Story, America, next to of course god america i, and I, Too, Sing America, are all story/poems that in some form or another address the theme of American exceptionalism and patriotism. In each of the titles, it is established that America is not as revered as it once was or possibly could be and that change needs to take place. Through dystopian tales, satirical speeches and exaggerated ideals the authors of these works of literature try to identify the issues faced in American society. Super Sad True Love story is a novel set in a futuristic world that portrays America as a dystopia. The conditions of the country are horrible; the dollar is extremely unstable, literacy has gone down the drain, privacy is virtually nonexistent and social networking has reached unthinkable extremes. Through these mediums Shteyngart reveals that patriotism is no longer about being proud but rather about surviving. Throughout the novel the state of the United States keeps deteriorating and none of the characters realize how bad it is. Lenny in the novel still holds love for America and hopes against all odds that it once again becomes a country to be admired as is seen in the lines below. “I took out my U.S. passport and held it in my hand, fingering its embossed golden eagle, still hoping it meant something. I remember how my parents would talk about the luck of their having left the Soviet Union for America. Oh God, I thought, let there still be such luck in this new world”...
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...to mean the sound of the bugles and drums carry through windows and doors and interrupt those that are around them. They hear the sounds being made, and cannot shut them out. He continues by saying “Make no parley-stop for no expostulation” (Whitman, para 3). To me, this means that that he wants the sounds to keep coming, regardless of any complaints from elsewhere. I am thinking that this has something to do with the military, and the bugles and drums that are being played are a way to express to everyone that it is happening and unavoidable regardless of pleas from mothers and children. The second poem I read by Walt Whitman was “I Hear America Singing” (Whitman, 644). This poem talks of different labored jobs held by people in America which is noted by the first line of the poem; “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,” (Whitman, 644). He then goes on to name those laborers such as the mechanics and carpenters, and how they all are singing very similarly, even though they hold different skills. He incorporates repetition in this poem by using the word “The” in each of the final...
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...“Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman immediately reminded me of texts and poems written by modernist authors, poems designed to reject traditional methods of writing and creating a new, cutting-edge style of writing based on emotions and simplicity. While this poem in particular isn’t exactly simple, it is powerful because it creates sharp images and evokes certain emotions for the reader about numerous topics, including religion, nature, and aging; a lot of the images are based on Whitman’s experiences and memories. Whitman’s style of writing includes heavy usage of anaphora (repetition of words at the beginning of lines or clauses), which also contributes to the creation of sharp images to be able to manifest his emotions in the poem; for example, That I could forget the mockers and insults! That I could forget the trickling tears, and the blows of the bludgeons and hammers! That I could look with a separate look on my own crucifixion and bloody crowning. (Line 961) Whitman’s poem is also reminiscent of imagist poetry. Imagism was a precursor to modernism and endorses the creation of sharp images in poetry, almost creating a still-life full of detail using words. One verse that struck me as such was I visit the orchards of spheres, and look at the product: And look at quintillions ripen’d, and look at quintillions green. (Line 797) This particular sentence elicited a clear and beautiful picture in my mind of a small path lined with orchards and countless amounts...
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...In Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing”, he said, “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear”(Whitman 12). The rest of this poem shows how everyone in America is different, but still the same by saying, “The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, The woodcutter’s song, the plowboys on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown. The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else”(Whitman 12). From this we see that we are all different but at the same time we are the same. In other words, we are all “singing” and this especially shows in times of disaster and grief....
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...It appears Walt Whitman has declared a day to rejoice in himself and wants the readers to experience his jubilance. This brings to mind how followers rejoice in the Lord to free their souls. Whitman states, every atom belonging to him belongs to the readers, just like the blood and body of Christ belong to his followers. Whitman shares his experience as he takes advantage of what nature offers. He marvels at the green slates of grass as though he’s never seen them before. He breathes in the air that has an aroma which intrigues his senses. He even infers that he can taste the perfume in his mouth which signifies that he’s in the moment of appreciation. Whitman’s celebration can be compared to a congregation worshipping the Lord. As worshippers echo the Lord’s name, they experience similar elation. Both Whitman and the worshippers are fulfilled by basic essentials and celebrate what matters most to them. In Whitman’s celebration, he is the most important and for worshippers, the Lord is most important. • Section 3: It sounds like people are inferring that God is coming. “I am the ‘Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’” However, Whitman doesn’t buy into the gossip and doesn’t believe in the past. He lives in the moment and looks forward to what is to come. He feels that whatever heaven and hell were, look different today and so does everything else that shape the world. Whitman appears to have a pragmatic view on life...
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...In “Song of Myself,” by Walt Whitman, Whitman uses grass and a hawk as symbols to convey an underlying message of equality in America. During this time era, the 1800s, slavery was going on, meaning many racism was also going on. Whitman supports the idea of having equality for instance in the section, “A Child Said What Is The Grass?,” Whitman says, “Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same” (Lines 11 - 12). This evidence reveals that Whitman did not care who you are, but that everyone would receive equal actions. Whitman says that all people should treat someone the same as you would want to be treated. If someone wants respect they should also treat others with respect. Whitman uses the slang terms for a French Canadian or African American showing that Whitman does not care if you are a different race....
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...“America does not repel the past or what it has produced under its forms or amid other politics or the ides of castes or the old religions . . .” (Page 426). Walt Whitman has written many poems. Whitman didn’t stick to formal verse. He was the first poet to use free verse. Free verse is where you use irregular meter and line length. This allowed Whitman to shape the stanzas to his meaning rather than fitting his message to a form (page 424). Many people believe that Walt Whitman came at a good time. They believe that while in perfect naturalness, health, faith, self-reliance, and all primal expressions of the manliest love and friendship, subject one to the stare and controversy of the world (Whitman). In Walt Whitman’s poems he describes how you can be taught in education....
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...commit suicide than females. This is also reflected in OECD (Organisation for economic co-operation and development) statistics, New Zealand currently has the highest rate of youth suicide, ages 15-24, in countries belonging to the OECD and 29th highest overall suicide rate. This is why I have decided to explore ‘the catalysts prevalent in established society which can be detrimental to our populations overall mental health.’ This theme is prevalent within the following combination of texts; Howl by Allen Ginsberg, Mental Cases by Wilfred Owen, Requiem for a Dream by Darren Aronofsky and Shutter Island by Martin Scorsese. These texts explore different aspects of the human psyche and of mental illness by examining these texts I hope to identify and expose which aspects of our society could be injurious to our mental health. Howl written in 1955 is Allen Ginsberg’s most famous piece of poetry to date which proved to be provocative and test the boundaries of the society which Ginsberg lived in. He pushed the boundaries of free speech writing on a range of topical issues concerning himself or that he believed were in need of denouncement....
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...English Poetry 2. What are the symbolic significances of the candy store in Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "The Pennycandystore Beyond the El" (Geddes, 318)? The candy store in "The Pennycandystore Beyond the El" is symbolic of a child's youth. This poem is referring to the fact that our childhood passes by too soon and the candy store is a reminder that we need to seize every moment to enjoy it. The pennycandystore offers as a retreat or refuge to the bad weather outside and the stresses of everyday life. It takes on the characteristics of an enchanted environment full of magic and wonder, where a child has the opportunity to enjoy their youth without any distractions. When "A girl ran in Her hair was rainy Her breasts were breathless in the little room" (Geddes 319), the safe haven of youth is invaded. The innocence of youth is lost and teenage adolescence is not far away. 3. After reviewing the entry on rhyme in Abram's Glossary, identify three different types of end-rhyme in Theodore Roethke's "Prayer" (Geddes, 140). What effects do the rhymes produce? In "Prayer" ther... ... middle of paper ... ...ning the peak of the arrowhead from the mountain to come and end his life. This poem is a commanding examination of one man's struggle to survive in the bush. We see that the human mind cannot fully comprehend what nature is trying to say, but we should make every effort to listen nonetheless. Works Cited Geddes, Gary. 20th Century Poetry & Poetics:...
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