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Course
Poetry and the Book
Faculty Member
Fiona Wilson
Files
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Abstract
In “Democratic Vistas”, Walt Whitman calls for an American literary revolution. He asserts that American poetry should reach towards the future; that American poetry should strive to create a society of strong, active readers through intellectual complexity; and that American poetry should break from European literary traditions. Whitman’s poetry carries out this revolution only partially; his poetry extends towards the modern, yet still somewhat clings to European traditions. This paper posits Whitman as a precursor of literary modernism, examines his influence on American modernist poetry, and explores the ways in which four American modernist poets fulfil his call for revolution.
Publication Date
Fall 2019
Document Type
Research Paper
Copyright
2019
Disciplines
Poetry
Recommended Citation
Patterson, Zoe, "A Nineteenth-Century Modernist: Walt Whitman’s Influence on American Modernist Poetry" (2019). Selected Undergraduate Works. 11.
https://digitalcommons.slc.edu/undergrad_selectedworks/11