Concetti Chiave
- Walt Whitman, born in 1819 in West Hills, started working at a young age and pursued a self-taught education, leading to his literary career.
- "Leaves of Grass," first published in 1855, is a collection of 12 poems reflecting Whitman's development as a poet and his experiences in America, with subsequent editions expanding on these themes.
- Whitman's poetry is marked by optimism and a romantic belief in America's future, celebrating the nation as the embodiment of the "American Dream."
- A central theme in his work is the poet's role to speak for the common man, along with a candid exploration of physical love, challenging puritanical norms.
- "O Captain! My Captain!" is a metaphorical poem mourning Abraham Lincoln's assassination, with the ship symbolizing the USA and Lincoln as its guiding leader.
Indice
Infanzia e formazione di Whitman
Walt Whitman was born in West Hills on Long Island in 1819. He had a little formal education and at the age of 11, he started to work as an office boy and then became a printer's apprentice. When he was 13, he travelled from New York to New Orleand, through Chicago. During this period he read and acquiring a self-taught and eccentric education.
Opere e temi principali
In 1855 he wrote "Leaves of Grass": containing 12 poems about his development as a poet and his experience of the American land. Nine editions followed, each containing new poems. The fourth edition contained poems on the Civil War and on the death of President Lincoln. Walt Whitman died in 1892.
Temi ricorrenti nella poesia di Whitman
Whitman's poetry is invaded by optimism and romantic faith in the dynamic future of the American nation. He celebrated American in all its kind. To him, his country represented the incarnation of the "American Dream".
Another main theme in Whitman's poetry is himself, his tasks as a poet to give voice to the common man.
He also deals physical love: Whitman's poetry is a poetry of the body, in which the theme of sex is developed with a directness and frankness that struck puritanical readers as "immoral".
Ode a Lincoln
After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Whitman wrote this poetry. In the poem methaporical references to this theme are repeated. The ship we are talking about represents the USA, while the journey recalls the difficulties of the American Civil War. The captain was Lincoln. He was like a captain because he was the leader of the country in the same way that the captain leads his crew.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è stata l'educazione di Walt Whitman?
- Quali sono i temi principali delle opere di Whitman?
- Come viene rappresentato Lincoln nella poesia di Whitman?
Whitman ha avuto un'educazione formale limitata e ha iniziato a lavorare a 11 anni. Ha acquisito un'educazione autodidatta ed eccentrica durante i suoi viaggi.
I temi principali includono l'ottimismo, la fede romantica nel futuro dell'America, l'incarnazione del "sogno americano", l'amore fisico e il ruolo del poeta come voce dell'uomo comune.
Lincoln è rappresentato come un capitano, simbolo del leader del paese, con la nave che rappresenta gli Stati Uniti e il viaggio che richiama le difficoltà della Guerra Civile Americana.
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