Whitman and Emerson

     Walt Whitman reminded me a lot of Ralph Waldo Emerson.  While I don't know whether or not Emerson would necessarily approve of Whitman, there is a great deal of similarity between them.  Whitman really seems to embody Emerson's idea of seeing things differently, while at the same time bringing his own unique style to the idea.

     Emerson focuses a lot on the eye, and teaches the importance of being able to look at nature and really see it the way it is.  He wants people to absorb nature, instead of just looking at it and passing by.  He wants nature to evoke emotion, to create a feeling inside of a person that is inexpressable by words.  It is this kind of response that he talks about in Nature, saying that "The waving of the boughs in the storm, is new to me and old.  It takes me by surprise, and yet it is not unknown.  Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right" (pg. 1284).

     

     Whitman follows Emerson's ideas, using very strong imagery and language to evoke a strong response from the reader: to get them to see things in an unusual or new light.  His work is totally unique in the way that it talks about familiar objects, and yet manages to portray them in such a way that it feels as if you are learning about it for the first time.  

          "Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with perfumes,

          I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,

          The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it" (1873).

     What is a bit different between the two of them is the subject focus.  Emerson concentrates totally on nature, seeing it as the key to greater self-awareness and appreciation of the surroundings.  In contrast, Whitman focuses on people, implying that it is through his self-awareness that he is able to fully appreciate the beauty of nature and of other people around him.  He states that, "I exist as I am, that is enough/. . . One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself" (pg. 1885-1886).

     It is always fascinating to see different interpretations of an artist's work, and even though Whitman did follow Emerson's basic idea, it was interesting to see Whitman's views come through in his work and really make it his own.  

Works Cited

Perkins, George, and Barbara Perkins.  The American Tradition in Literature.  12th ed. Vol. 1. Boston.  McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.