Wordsworth and Whitman

My roommate will make fun of me for writing this, since I'm suppose to be working on my paper. But since my paper is about Wordsworth and Whitman, this short digression shouldn't be too damaging. ;-) In fact, it might help me sort out my thoughts for the paper.

I'm writing about Wordsworth influencing Whitman, but something about the idea makes me a bit indignant, probably like it made Whitman himself. Whitman's indirect goal in his poetry was to cut the literary cord America still had going with Britain. In fact, he made a note to himself to "never mention any other author or work" in Leaves of Grass. But all the research I've done in realizing this connection between the British literary giant and the Good Gray Poet makes the relationship undeniable. There are so many similarities between them, but Whitman, in his notes, often wrote disparaging comments on Wordsworth, and was usually unsatisfied with him.

But he was setting out to do in America what Wordsworth did in Britain: write poetry for everyone, not just a stilted upper class. Write using language anyone can fathom. Write about the individual, the poet's spiritual journey.

Wordsworth published his magnum opus, the Prelude, 5 years before Whitman publised Leaves of Grass. Wordsworth died the same year the Prelude was published, and Whitman noted his birth and death dates often in the margins of articles. Whitman was very aware of Wordsworth, but often offered no comment when people compared him to the Bristish Romantic. Why would he, when he was making the effort to be utterly original, and seperate American poetry from British?

One source on Whitman is called the "Solitary Singer": it's a critical biography. But I have to wonder: was he all that solitary? He was very methodical in destroying his notes: maybe he was garnering more from the Brits that he cared to share.

Even so, despite all their similarities, I'd much rather sit down and read Leaves of Grass than the Prelude. But Tintern Abbey can compete even with my favorite Whitman poetry, so perhaps I've innately noted the connection just by which poetry I favor. Hm...