Walt Whitman

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century, Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book Walt Whitman by David S. Reynolds, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David S. Reynolds ISBN: 9780199923991
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: January 7, 2005
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: David S. Reynolds
ISBN: 9780199923991
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: January 7, 2005
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

From the great events of the day to the patient workings of a spider, few poets responded to the life around them as powerfully as Walt Whitman. Now, in this brief but bountiful volume, David S. Reynolds offers a wealth of insight into the life and work of Whitman, examining the author through the lens of nineteenth-century America. Reynolds shows how Whitman responded to contemporary theater, music, painting, photography, science, religion, and sex. But perhaps nothing influenced Whitman more than the political events of his lifetime, as the struggle over slavery threatened to rip apart the national fabric. America, he believed, desperately needed a poet to hold together a society that was on the verge of unraveling. He created his powerful, all-absorbing poetic "I" to heal a fragmented nation that, he hoped, would find in his poetry new possibilities for inspiration and togetherness. Reynolds also examines the influence of theater, describing how Whitman's favorite actor, the tragedian Junius Brutus Booth--"one of the grandest revelations of my life"--developed a powerfully emotive stage style that influenced Leaves of Grass, which took passionate poetic expression to new heights. Readers will also discover how from the new medium of photography Whitman learned democratic realism and offered in his poetry "photographs" of common people engaged in everyday activities. Reynolds concludes with an appraisal of Whitman's impact on American letters, an influence that remains strong today. Solidly grounded in historical and biographical facts, and exceptionally wide-ranging in the themes it treats, Walt Whitman packs a dazzling amount of insight into a compact volume.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the great events of the day to the patient workings of a spider, few poets responded to the life around them as powerfully as Walt Whitman. Now, in this brief but bountiful volume, David S. Reynolds offers a wealth of insight into the life and work of Whitman, examining the author through the lens of nineteenth-century America. Reynolds shows how Whitman responded to contemporary theater, music, painting, photography, science, religion, and sex. But perhaps nothing influenced Whitman more than the political events of his lifetime, as the struggle over slavery threatened to rip apart the national fabric. America, he believed, desperately needed a poet to hold together a society that was on the verge of unraveling. He created his powerful, all-absorbing poetic "I" to heal a fragmented nation that, he hoped, would find in his poetry new possibilities for inspiration and togetherness. Reynolds also examines the influence of theater, describing how Whitman's favorite actor, the tragedian Junius Brutus Booth--"one of the grandest revelations of my life"--developed a powerfully emotive stage style that influenced Leaves of Grass, which took passionate poetic expression to new heights. Readers will also discover how from the new medium of photography Whitman learned democratic realism and offered in his poetry "photographs" of common people engaged in everyday activities. Reynolds concludes with an appraisal of Whitman's impact on American letters, an influence that remains strong today. Solidly grounded in historical and biographical facts, and exceptionally wide-ranging in the themes it treats, Walt Whitman packs a dazzling amount of insight into a compact volume.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Let My People Go by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Designs for Science Literacy by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book The Slave Trade and the Origins of International Human Rights Law by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Martial's Epigrams Book Two by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Encounter on the Great Plains by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Social Epistemology by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book The Oxford Dictionary of Islam by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book We Are Better Than This by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Born of Conviction by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times : Volume 2 by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Creating Language Crimes by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Taking Our Country Back by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Psychological and Cognitive Impact of Critical Illness by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book Marconi by David S. Reynolds
Cover of the book The Three Strangers and Other Stories - With Audio Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library by David S. Reynolds
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy