Monday, September 21, 2009
Whitman
All three men, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman, were great writers, filled with many splendid ideas, but personally I prefer Whitman the most out of the three. Whitman brings a certain hope to his writings I didn’t feel with in the works of the other two. His poetry is full of life and happiness, a very optimistic edge in nearly all of his words. Whitman was someone simply happy to be alive, not denying that there are bad parts of our world, but trying to focus on the things that could make him happy. Furthermore, enjoyed how Whitman was much straighter forward in his language. Emerson’s work sounds beautiful, but it takes quite a bit of intelligence to understand what he is speaking about. Whitman also used some more difficult vocabulary, but I feel that a larger majority could understand and enjoy the messages he was trying to convey.
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ReplyDeleteDana,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you zero in on this notion of optimism, and while Emerson was certainly an optimist, I think you're right to suggest that he lacks the outright exuberance that marks Whitman's work. So, as we start work on this initial essay, you might want to start thinking about how you can use Whitman as a 'springboard' to launch you onto a discussion of some aspect of your own life (what, for example, provides you with your own 'hopeful flag of your disposition'?
Good post! I'm excited to see where you go with this.