Famous Quotes | Although there was a great deal...
Although there was a great deal of invention in Whitman’s revolutionary work, he built upon a foundation that was already clear, direct, available, and acceptable: the ordinary language of the “common man,” the working man and laborer—the man of the street. Whitman transformed the language with which he began, but he had something to begin with. Dickinson would have found Whitman’s call for a “common” language in poetry entirely congenial—even, perhaps, compelling—for he gave formal utterance to many attitudes that lie behind her work; however, she faced a serious challenge in attempting to implement such a proposal. “Direct” language in a woman was always “domestic” language: there were no women of the street (save for prostitutes), no workingwomen or women laborers.- Cynthia Griffin Wolff
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Categories: Author, Dickinson, Emily, Educator, Whitman, Walt