‘I Dreamed in a Dream’ is a short poem by Walt Whitman. As the repetition of ‘dream’ in Whitman’s title suggests, this poem combines the two principal meanings of ‘dream’: ambition and illusion. Whitman dreamt of a utopian city where ‘robust love’ triumphed and flourished, above all else. ‘I Dreamed […]
Tag: Walt Whitman
‘I Sing the Body Electric’: A Poem by Walt Whitman
‘I Sing the Body Electric’ is perhaps Walt Whitman’s best-known poem, along with ‘Song of Myself’. ‘I Sing the Body Electric’ appeared in the original 1855 edition of Whitman’s collection, Leaves of Grass. It does what its title (added later) announces, with Whitman writing about his own body and its […]
‘Song of Myself’: A Poem by Walt Whitman
‘Song of Myself’ is perhaps the definitive achievement of the great nineteenth-century American poet Walt Whitman (1819-92), so we felt that it was a good choice for the second in our ‘post a poem a day’ feature. ‘Song of Myself’ is long, but well worth devoting ten or fifteen minutes […]
A Short Analysis of Walt Whitman’s ‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’
A summary of a short Whitman poem ‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’ is a little gem of a poem among Walt Whitman’s oeuvre. In this post we’d like to share the poem, and offer a few words of analysis. What does Whitman mean by using the ‘noiseless patient spider’ when depicting […]
10 of the Best Walt Whitman Poems Everyone Should Read
The best poems by Walt Whitman selected by Dr Oliver Tearle Walt Whitman (1819-92), with his innovative free verse and celebration of the American landscape, made his poetry a sort of literary declaration of independence, seeking to move away from the literary tradition associated with the Old World and forge […]