Walt Whitmans Influence on Germany :: Walt Whitman Germany Poetry Poets Essays

Walt Whitmans Influence on GermanyWalt Whitman (1819-1892) is considered to be one of the greatest American poets of the nineteenth century. While Edgar Allan Poe may get been more widely read, Whitman had more international writers actively respond to him and his poesy than any other American poet. A century after his death, writers about the world are still in dialogue with him, pondering the questions he posed, arguing with him and elaborating on his insights. People nurture been attracted to Whitman for numerous reasons. For his time he was truly unconventional and introduced the modern lyric with his autobiographical collection of prose poems called Leaves of Grass. The concussion Whitman has, however, exceeds technical innovation it lies in his universal appeal.Walt Whitman is many things to many people. The poet formerly remarked about the various photographs of himself he used to come upon, I attend new Walt Whitmans every day. There are a dozen of me afloat. possibly even more manifold than the physical images of the author are the shipway in which he has been perceived. The purpose of this paper is to examine how Walt Whitmans poetry influenced Germany. How the poet was received, which aspects of Whitmans doctrine most attracted Germans, ultimately has to do with the Zeitgeist, the intellectual climate of the day.For numerous authors Whitman has generally been a poet of democracy and political questions have often been at the centralize of the international responses to Whitman. While this aspect of his poetry has inspired people from states much(prenominal) as the former Soviet Union and China, it has non been the only bag to spellbind his admirers. Authors from India, for example, have been able to identify with Whitman on a phantasmal plane, seeing in him a Hindu vision. Clearly the way in which people relate to the poet has much to do with what is essential and pertinent to their stimulate lives.Whitmans Influence For Whitmans conte mporaries the most obvious deviation from the norm was his prose style. Whitman does not submit his thoughts to metered rhyme, yet they are rhythmic, just not in the traditional sense of a stanza. His free verse forms have been likened to the ebb and rate of flow of the ocean tides, which inspired him throughout his life. The innovation of Whitmans poetry, however, exceeds structure and pattern and those who have admired his poetry have also been intrigued by its content.