In the introduction to Memoranda, Whitman expresses his fears of the Civil War being forgotten and writes, “In the mushy influence of current times, the fervid atmosphere and typical events of those years are in danger of being totally forgotten” (5). However, in the lament Whitman gives, Whitman himself acknowledges that the “real war” can [...]
Part of the 6th Maine Infantry after the battle of Fredericksburg
The town from the east bank of the Rappahonnock river, Fredericksburg, VA. March 1863
These are just some of the many pictures of Fredericksburg that were taken by Matthew Brady and his associates during the Civil War years.
More pictures can be found at: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/civil-war/brady.html
After comparing the two versions of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass I find Walt Whitman more intriguing than ever. When noticing the differences in the poems, I thought to myself, “Why would Whitman do that?” “What is his purpose in changing just one little coma or word in the poem?” All of these questions heighten the [...]
I was wondering what Walt Whitman’s religious upbringings were? We have talked a lot about him as a prophet-like figure, so I did not know what religious influences he had growing up.
In Walt Whitman’s letter to Emerson, Whitman discusses the lack of sexual description within literature and states, “This filthy law has to be repealed- it stands in the way of great reforms” (Whitman 1358). After reading Whitman’s thoughts regarding the suppression of sex within texts in his letter to Emerson, I believe Whitman placed an [...]
“The camera and plate are prepared, the lady must sit for her daguerreotype” (Whitman 41).
The daguerreotype is a type of photograph that was invented in 1839 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. The photographic image is made on a photo-sensitive silver compound, silver halide, and developed by exposing the image to mercury vapor. The image produced is extremely [...]
In Walt Whitman’s America, David S. Reynolds indicates that Walt Whitman saw both great promise and profound defects in the American urban scene and in working-class behavior (Reynolds 83). Since Whitman was a keen observer of the world around him, Whitman used writing as a tool to share his observations to the rest of America. [...]
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