Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are both influential poets, who have inspired many young writers. The two authors vary significantly from one another. They both have unique style, content, and approach to writing. Whitman writes in a lengthy manner. “Song of Myself” spans many pages and contains long and descriptive lines. An example of his elongated style is, “I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women/And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken soon/out of their laps” (Norton Anthology 1028). This thought is expressed over three lines of his poem. This style contributes to the descriptive and eloquent nature of Whitman’s poetry. The reader absorbs much from his writing. In contrast to Whitman, Dickinson writes in an incredibly choppy style. For example, she states, “Flow plain – and foreign /On my homesick eye -/Except that You than He/Shone closer by-…”(Norton Anthology 1210). This style is evident in all of her works. It evokes a haunted feeling from the reader. …show more content…
In his poems, he sees himself and the world as one. He states, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself,/And what I assume you shall assume,/ For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Norton Anthology 1024). He empathizes with many different people. In addition, he discusses his own personal experiences. He states, “The suicide sprawls on the bloody form of the bedroom,/ I witness the corpse with its dabble hair, I note where the pistol has fallen” (Norton Anthology 1029). Due to the fact that he spoke in first person as other individuals, I wonder if he had fabricated some of his personal experiences. He seems to have a wide variety of interests and is naturally curious. In addition, Whitman is incredibly observant of life around him. In many poems, he simply describes the world around him (Norton Anthology