Answering the phantom : Walt Whitman's role as poet in Leaves of grass

Abstract

Much of the immense body of Whitman criticism that has accumulated to this point understandably concerns itself with trying to decipher Whitman's poetic values and objectives, for such questions do get to the heart of the poet's work. What was the poet saying, and why and how was he saying it? The reason so much criticism has been written attempting to answer these questions is that the passages in which Whitman specifically claims that he is setting out to define the American poet as well as his own role as just such a poet are cleverly abstract and sometimes contradictory. Therefore, this paper seeks to first contextualize the body of relevant Whitman criticism and then to look at the main sections of Leaves of Grass in which Whitman sets ou to explain his role as an American poet, in an attempt to glean from these passages some idea of Whitman's primary poetic focus. Finally, the paper will try to show how Whitman used concrete, tangible objects as the means through which his poetic objectives were carried out in his poetry, as well as his poetic process through which these goals were achieved. A work of literary analysis, this thesis seeks to explore the specific means through which Walt Whitman accomplished his rather abstract poetic goals in Leaves of Grass.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

1998

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Smith, Ernest J.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

English

Degree Program

English Literature

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic;Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021529

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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