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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
had originally borrowed it from a friend & gave it back because he was moving. (i had sort of already dropped it before that point but still)
bigger review forthcoming, i'm thinking a lot about this one. i don't even think it was perfect but it would be silly not to give it a 5. made me cry!
Leaves of Grass: The First (1855) Edition (Penguin Classics) by Walt Whitman (1961)
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I really enjoyed some of the poems, but a lot of it was insufferable. He was really full of himself. And also racist. Yikes.
Walt Whitman, though I’ve known him for a day, has captured my heart and has begun my love for poetry and its intricate details… the free and blank verse of Whitman was totally different than my previous experiences with Shakespeare’s poetry and Milton’s, but has surpassed them in terms of tranquility, unity, and clarity.
Whitman’s poems are simple and powerful, similar to how Hemingway’s prose is usually described, and always hold a special significance no matter the subject matter. He usually included transcendental themes in his poems as well as realist ideals like the love of nature and people, which I found extremely admirable. As an American who’s aware of the corruption and lies of what my country is capable of, Whitman reminded me of what once was the American dream: lush greenery, perfect unity amongst the people, love for everyone and everything, plants, animals, the cosmos, all of it; not one of them left out and not one of them unspoken about.
Song of Myself, the empowering and in itself ‘epic’ poem about the occupations of America and admiration for nature impressed me the most; it was able to speak more in fifty pages than most novels today, and contained more substance and genuine passion than all poetry today. I do not know the other names of the poems in this book from heart, but the philosophy they contain similar is similar to that of Stoicism, and frankly describes a more simple approach to appreciating life: love everyone and everything.
Whitman has caught me in his poetic verses, and I’ve fallen in love with simplicity and sincerity.
Whitman’s poems are simple and powerful, similar to how Hemingway’s prose is usually described, and always hold a special significance no matter the subject matter. He usually included transcendental themes in his poems as well as realist ideals like the love of nature and people, which I found extremely admirable. As an American who’s aware of the corruption and lies of what my country is capable of, Whitman reminded me of what once was the American dream: lush greenery, perfect unity amongst the people, love for everyone and everything, plants, animals, the cosmos, all of it; not one of them left out and not one of them unspoken about.
Song of Myself, the empowering and in itself ‘epic’ poem about the occupations of America and admiration for nature impressed me the most; it was able to speak more in fifty pages than most novels today, and contained more substance and genuine passion than all poetry today. I do not know the other names of the poems in this book from heart, but the philosophy they contain similar is similar to that of Stoicism, and frankly describes a more simple approach to appreciating life: love everyone and everything.
Whitman has caught me in his poetic verses, and I’ve fallen in love with simplicity and sincerity.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Flip to any random page and there's a singularly warm embrace of humanity. This may be my favorite poetic work in the English language.
Whitman's not a simple character: often heralded as a beacon of anti-racist liberalism, he does not live up to that modern imagining. Yet still, despite, to use that damned phrase, being a product of his time, his fervid mystic-humanist defense of the unity of the Kosmos---especially the glorious cycle of death, the diffusion of man and nature and the individual and collective---is bolstered by wise insights into the soul and a uniquely keen eye for America so that, for me, the whole never misambulates toward maudlin shores. Certainly there are those who would disagree, but I think Whitman's enduring status as America's poet is telling in this regard. His pastoral anamnesis of his home's many vistas makes for a powerfully pure unifying symbol for the nation despite its complexities and his own not-so-obvious reconciling of its supremacy with his supremacy and still with the orbic unity of us all.
While I wasn't entirely without prior exposure, reading the full edition still proved better done in segments. I knew I wanted to get through "Song of Myself" right away; I knew "Drum Taps" with "Memories of President Lincoln" and "Songs of Parting" with the two Annexes were further benchmarks to strive toward in later spurts of reading. I'd like to grab the Norton Critical Edition and a first edition copy. I know many contend the first edition is a purer distillation, but the final tome was unified enough for my liking. It feels right to appreciate his life's work as he intended. The devotion needed to get it to this point is bordering unthinkable.
Whitman's not a simple character: often heralded as a beacon of anti-racist liberalism, he does not live up to that modern imagining. Yet still, despite, to use that damned phrase, being a product of his time, his fervid mystic-humanist defense of the unity of the Kosmos---especially the glorious cycle of death, the diffusion of man and nature and the individual and collective---is bolstered by wise insights into the soul and a uniquely keen eye for America so that, for me, the whole never misambulates toward maudlin shores. Certainly there are those who would disagree, but I think Whitman's enduring status as America's poet is telling in this regard. His pastoral anamnesis of his home's many vistas makes for a powerfully pure unifying symbol for the nation despite its complexities and his own not-so-obvious reconciling of its supremacy with his supremacy and still with the orbic unity of us all.
While I wasn't entirely without prior exposure, reading the full edition still proved better done in segments. I knew I wanted to get through "Song of Myself" right away; I knew "Drum Taps" with "Memories of President Lincoln" and "Songs of Parting" with the two Annexes were further benchmarks to strive toward in later spurts of reading. I'd like to grab the Norton Critical Edition and a first edition copy. I know many contend the first edition is a purer distillation, but the final tome was unified enough for my liking. It feels right to appreciate his life's work as he intended. The devotion needed to get it to this point is bordering unthinkable.
im gonna be honest i dont think i understood half of what was said. pray for me and my grade in this class
i realized i didn't actually read "leaves of grass" but a book containing whitman's most important poems from that work, which is why i changed the edition (it's 88 pages while the actual book is like 500 or something).
anyways, i don't enjoy poetry that much so the low rating is my fault, and i skimmed a lot; but i noticed he made it a point to talk positively about feminism which i appreciated.
anyways, i don't enjoy poetry that much so the low rating is my fault, and i skimmed a lot; but i noticed he made it a point to talk positively about feminism which i appreciated.
You know how some people have books they consider their personal "bibles"? This is mine.