Description |
1 online resource (xiv, 134 pages) : illustrations |
Series |
Gale virtual reference library |
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Twayne's masterwork studies ; no. 92 |
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Gale virtual reference library.
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Twayne's masterwork studies ; no. 92
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Contents |
Chronology: Walt Whitman's Life, Works, and Times -- Literary and Historical Context. 1. The Prolonged Birth Pangs of the Nation. 2. A New Poetry for the New Nation. 3. The Fight of a Book for the World -- A Reading. 4. The Lyric-Epic Structure. 5. "Song of Myself": Tapping Primal Energies. 6. The Omnisexual Vision of Leaves. 7. Wandering the Open Road. 8. The Real Parturition Years of America. 9. Bridging the Way from Life to Death. 10. Night, Sleep, Death, and the Stars |
Summary |
"After a childhood spent on a Long Island farm followed by limited schooling in Brooklyn and a modestly successful career as teacher, carpenter, and journalist, Walt Whitman published his epic poem, Leaves of Grass (1855), at the age of thirty-six. His vision of America had been enlarged and his poetic imagination enhanced by an 1848 journey he made across the Appalachians and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. The country's teeming diversity of peoples, landscapes, and waterways became embodied in his poetry, as did his celebration of sexual identity. On receiving a copy of Leaves of Grass from the unknown poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson responded warmly to Whitman, calling his book "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." Later, on the occasion of a newly expanded edition of the poems in 1860, Emerson suggested that Whitman delete the passages celebrating sexuality in its various manifestations. But Whitman, clear on what he had so intensely felt, refused. Sexually tolerant and open, Whitman was concerned with conveying a vision of the fundamental integrity of all sexual and spiritual experiences, which he saw as inextricably intertwined. Whitman's masterpiece, which he shaped and reshaped in a sequence of expanded editions, has gradually achieved a world-wide reputation and stands today as America's foremost volume of poetry." "In this comprehensive study of Leaves of Grass, James E. Miller, Jr., shows how Whitman fashioned his work into America's "lyric-epic" of the self and of democracy. The study probes deeply the sexual themes of the work, with its "omnisexual vision" anticipating later theories of human personality of Freud and others. In addition to placing the work in historical context, Miller's study explores Leaves of Grass's symbolic levels and its interconnected ideas on human sexuality and human sociopolitical structures. Miller concludes that Whitman discovered and expanded our understanding of the deeply sexual roots of human identity and human relationships, including love and friendship in all its many manifestations."--Jacket |
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Provides in-depth analysis of the literary work Leaves of Grass, as well as its importance and critical reception. Includes a chronology of the life and works of the author |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
Notes |
Print version record |
Subject |
Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892. Leaves of grass.
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Whitman, Walt (1819-1892). Leaves of grass. |
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Whitman, Walt. |
SUBJECT |
Leaves of grass (Whitman, Walt) fast http://id.worldcat.org/fast/fst01356650 |
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Leaves of grass. swd |
Subject |
Democracy in literature.
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Epic poetry, American -- History and criticism
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Self in literature.
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Leaves of grass (Whitman)
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Democracy in literature.
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Epic poetry, American.
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Moi -- Dans la littérature.
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Poésie épique américaine -- Histoire et critique.
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Self in literature.
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Genre/Form |
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
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Form |
Electronic book
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ISBN |
0805718605 |
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9780805718607 |
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