The Abstract Ideas of Whitman and Dickinson

Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are two extraordinary poets from the 1800’s. Their works have survived the test of time as we continue to examine their poems in the 2000’s. Dickinson and Whitman were two American poets who pushed the boundaries of what was socially acceptable to write about. They explored themes like self expression, faith, and sexuality. They used their creativity and figurative language to relate their abstract ideas to the world. They invoke emotion in the reader to make the experience extraordinary and further build their literary arsenal. The importance of the literary devices used like figurative language including personification and imagery is paramount to the reading experience of these two great American authors. Where they differ in their writing is the sensation they bring forth. 

Emily Dickinson has an ethereal air about her, highlighting the natural world and all its beauty:

The Bee is not afraid of me.

I know the Butterfly

The pretty people in the Woods

Receive me cordially - (Dickinson 111)

When I read this specific poem from Dickinson I envision a meadow with bees and butterflies around me with the feeling of being free and happy. Walt Whitman’s tone is depressing and when he expresses his creativity his stories usually surround dark themes like war. “Where they lie on the ground after the battle brought in, Where their priceless blood reddens the grass, the ground,” (Whitman pg.2) Whitman uses imagery in this line to really let the reader envision the harrowing scene he’s describing. He brings forth emotions of sadness, fear, and even a little bit of anxiety in this poem. Other examples from the two poets' differences are from Whitman’s Drum Taps and Dickinson's 641st poem. Dickinson once again gives us a whimsical feeling taking inspiration from nature stating, “The Giant tolerates no Gnat, For Ease of Gianture-” (Dickinson 641) In contrast, Whitman continues to write about war and death. In his poem “Look Down Fair Moon” he chillingly describes dead soldiers, “On the dead on their backs with their arms toss’d wide,” (Whitman 250) Both of these authors are obviously creative and allow us to envision the scenes they’ve produced, the vast difference is the emotions we feel inside.

The themes they present are similar and they write from a very personal and deep part of themselves. In their poems about sexuality and love they both seem to come from a place of desperation and despair. Emily Dickinson still uses vocabulary that makes her work eloquent while Walt Whitman is a little more blunt in his work. For example in poem 732 when talking about being a wife Dickinson gracefully puts it as, “dropt, The Playthings of Her Life, To take the honorable Work,” (Dickinson 732) It feels like this woman she is writing about life is over now that she’s a wife. In Song of Myself Whitman has a poem about a lover abandoning him, in the second line he simply states, “Did it make you ache so, leaving me?” (Whitman 29) That simple line makes it feel like the perfect mix of desperation and despair; that he’s so saddened by the absence of his love he’s begging for an answer: did it hurt leaving me? Both of these authors have clearly gone through the pain of being in love. In terms of sexuality, both Dickinson and Whitman were queer. Dickinson is not so forward with the expression of her sexuality, but as we notice in the lines analyzed above she doesn’t always take love and the idea of being a wife easy. (Dickinson has poetry about women and eroticism, but we did not read any of them.) Whitman is much more forward with his bisexuality. In many poems from Song of Myself Whitman describes borderline erotic thoughts. “From the cinder-strew’d threshold I follow their movements, The lithe sheer of their waists plays even with their massive arms,” (Whitman 12) Another example quite literally describing bisexuality is, “Man or woman, I might tell how I like you, but cannot,” (Whitman 40) Both of these queer authors write similarly when also coming from similar experiences concerning love and sexuality.

Faith is a big topic for both Dickinson and Whitman. They both seem to believe in God, but they both struggle with their faith. I think being queer definitely hurt their faith due to the homophobia in the church. Once again, Whitman is a lot more straightforward with his poetry. “My faith is the greatest of faiths and the least of faiths,” (Whitman 43) He is directly speaking on his struggle to keep his faith. Dickinson's poem 324 also talks about her struggle with faith. She describes how things are normally done versus how she does it, the line that stood out to me the most was the last one. “So instead of getting to  Heaven, at last- I'm going, all along.” (Dickinson 324) Part of me goes back to my hypothesis, and wonders if the reason she believes she is going to hell is because of her queerness. Once again, these authors' similarities lie in the similar life experiences they’ve had. While they are both believers, they both struggle with their faith.

Finally, both authors use some of the same literary devices lying in the realm of figurative language. The most notable one is they both use personification, specifically the personification of death. “Because I could not stop for Death- He kindly stopped  for me-” (Dickinson 712) This is my favorite poem by Dickinson. I’m partial to personification of existential ideas like- death. “That the hands of the sisters Death and Night increasingly softly,” (Whitman pg. 250) Through their technical writing it’s clear these authors are also creative writers. Another example we could take is a metaphor from Walt Whitman. “Sea breathing broad and convulsive breaths,” (Whitman 22) This could also be argued as personification, that the sea breathing makes it humane. In the first paragraph, we also touched a bit on imagery. Imagery is another type of figurative language that creates an image in your mind. Whitman does it more and Dickinson, allowing his creativity to thrive and drive through exactly what he wants the reader to see in their mind. All of the figurative language that the poets employ only enhances the reading experience. Figurative language helps writers to show off their technical skills, but also helps us imagine the scene and relate better to the text. 

Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are two creative, queer, American poets. They differ in the emotions they invoke from the reader and the gloom of their themes. Topics they both write about include love, sexuality, and faith. The way they speak about the topics are also very similar; for example they are both queer and struggle with their faith. They employ figurative language in a similar way to keep the reader engaged and enhance their writing. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed reading these works. The poems are deep and push the envelope of what is acceptable to talk about. It’s clear that these came from a very emotional part from the writers, and allowed them a space to vent about life and their experiences.