WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2
Writing Assignment
Dickinson and Whitman, poets from the antebellum period, differ in various ways
regarding the themes and styles of their poems. Whitman uses imagery in most of his poems
such as Song of Myself. Whitman writes, “The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the
shore and dark-color’d sea-rocks and of hay in the barn” (Whitman, 1892). Conversely,
Dickinson uses personification in most of her work such as “Because I could not stop for death,
He kindly stopped for me” (Dickinson, 1999). Dickinson perceives death as an individual when
she refers to it as ‘he’. The other difference between the two poets is in how they responded to
Emerson’s call. Whitman is perceived to have been creative in the manner in which he responded
to the call as he wrote it in free verse having no particular rhymes. Contrarily, Dickinson is
perceived to have answered Emerson’s call in a more creative manner than Whitman as she
included her styles such as capitalization.
Dickinson, for instance, talks about nature in her poems and how nature can cause
suffering to human beings like when she talks about death. Contrarily, Whitman addresses the
importance of peace and unity especially in his poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” in which he
wrote about the American Civil War (Whitman, n.d).). The two poets, Dickinson and Whitman,
are regarded successful as their poetry was highly appreciated then and still appreciated today as
they did exemplary work in their poems regarding the styles they used to convey their messages.
I prefer Dickinson of the two poets because she was highly creative in her poetry work.
Apart from using poetic devices and styles, she also used her stylistic touch to help make her
poems more interesting and allow the readers to have a better understanding. She also gives
nature human qualities to help make the readers understand that nature is very important to her.
