Walt Whitman: A Lynchpin between the Transcendentalist Poets and Realistic Style of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This article intends to show how Walt Whitman bridged the transcendentalist writers with a more realistic technique of the twentieth century. Whitman began his democratic theme under the direct influence of American Transcendentalism, characterized by ideal resilience clearly reflected in Song of Myself (1855). Since that time until today, Whitman’s poetry has been significantly influential in a global context. Even before Whitman was considered as such by readers in other countries, and was considered as a writer who imaginatively and carefully defined the challenges of democracy. His international impact has grown throughout the last century, and has helped generations of authors – in Latin America, Europe, emerging African nations, and the Indian subcontinent – to challenge and formulate democratic attitudes and assumptions. Questions regarding the nature of democratic political systems, a democratic sexuality, a democratic religion, and a democratic art, were Whitman’s main concerns, and components of his international reactions. His impact was felt across the Soviet Union, where he was regarded as a type of socialist prophet. It is not an accident that Whitman’s impact has been dramatically apparent in States that are in the middle of deep social change and democratic revolutions. He is known to be part of the change between transcendentalism and realism, integrating both views in poetry. This article highlights his bridging up the transcendentalist style with that of the twentieth century poetic style. This innovation is arguably covered through critical discussion of his poetic oeuvre.