Question

1. Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were influenced by the Romantics. Choose one of the two poets. Provide at least three ways that he or she reflects Romantic thinking in his or her writing. Then give an example from one of the works that you studied in this unit that illustrates that characteristic.

Answer 1

Emily Dickinson's writing is influenced by many ideas that were predominant in the Romantic period. For example, Dickinson emphasizes the importance of nature as a source of wisdom and beauty. For example, in her poem "This is My Letter to the World," she says:

The simple news that Nature told,

With tender majesty.

A second characteristic is the isolation of the individual, and a sense of disconnection to the world that is common in Romantic literature. In the same poem, Dickinson shows this alienation by saying:

This is my letter to the world,

That never wrote to me,--

As a reaction to this alienation, and to the modern life that the Industrial Revolution created, Romantic poems often discuss human psychology, and advocate for feelings of unity and empathy among people. Dickinson addresses this by saying:

Her message is committed

To hands I cannot see;

For love of her, sweet countrymen,

Judge tenderly of me!