English: walt whitman.
Whitman, American poet1810 May 3 1 day, walt whitman was born in a farmer's family in Long Island, new york, USA. Due to the limited financial ability of his family, he only attended primary school for a few years and dropped out of school at the age of 1 1. Whitman worked as a handyman, apprentice, compositor, rural primary school teacher, journalist and editor. Whitman's democratic thought has two main sources. When he was a teenager, he listened to Thomas Paine's music many times and was a frequent visitor to his family. His radical democratic tendency and utopian socialist thought left a profound influence on him, which made him determined to become a Paine-style democratic fighter from an early age. In adulthood, it coincides with the rise of transcendentalism. Fascinated by Emerson's theory, he loved nature and ordinary working people more and strengthened his democratic stand. Whitman started his literary creation from 1839, wrote some short poems and participated in local political activities. From 65438 to 0842, he was the editor of new york Dawn. At the beginning of 1846, he was the editor of Brocklein Daily Eagle. He was dismissed from his post in June 1848 because he published an article against slavery in this newspaper. Later, he served as the editor-in-chief of Freeman, and finally left the press because of his political disagreement with 1840. Since 1850, Whitman has been engaged in manual labor, carpentry and architecture on the one hand, and launched his vigorous poetry creation activities on the other. He began to publish free poems in newspapers to express his love for nature and praise for free and democratic life. After the civil war broke out, he actively supported Lincoln's idea of liberating slaves and took part in the battle himself. Expressed his ideal of pursuing democracy and progress. During the Civil War, the poet went to new york Baihui Hospital for nursing, and later served in a military hospital in Washington. 1873, Whitman was unfortunately hemiplegic and moved to Camden, New Jersey to recuperate. He died of serious illness on 1892. Whitman's first book of poetry was Leaves of Grass. When 1855 was published in new york, there were only 94 poems, including 12 poems. To 1882 version, increased to 372 songs. 186 1 year, the American civil war broke out. During this period, he wrote the Drum Album, which truly recorded the revolutionary war. After President Lincoln was assassinated, he wrote, "Ah, Captain! Poems such as "My Captain Yo" and "The barracks are quiet today" express deep condolences to Lincoln. In the famous poem The Mysterious Trumpeter, he described the future free world optimistically. Whitman is a famous American democratic poet. He praised democracy and freedom, which reflected the American people's desire for democracy. He praised people's creative work, and his poems gave people a positive and energetic spirit. In his later years, Whitman saw the serious disadvantages brought by the development of capitalism, and the idealized society was far from coming. He wrote articles attacking it and put forward plans for improvement. He struggled to realize the democratic ideal all his life. Whitman's name has long been known to the people of China. During the May 4th Movement, the poet Guo Moruo praised Whitman as a literary revolutionary in his famous poem Ode to Gangsters. Whitman, an American native poet, created a new poetic style: free verse. That is, we get rid of the constraints and constraints of meter and rhyme, and people's thoughts and language can be freely played. Leaves of Grass laid the foundation of American poetry and had a considerable influence on the poetry art in the United States and other countries. 1825 The whole family moved to Brooklyn. Father gave up agriculture and became an urban carpenter. Whitman went to Brooklyn College.
Another brief introduction
Name: Whitman Date of birth: 18 19-1892 Nationality: Whitman was an outstanding American democratic poet in the 19th century. He comes from a peasant family. Worked as a carpenter, compositor, teacher, newspaper editor and clerk. He wrote many poems in his life and compiled them into Leaves of Grass. Whitman's creation is divided into three periods. Before the civil war, his poems mainly opposed slavery and national oppression, praised freedom and democracy, praised working people and described nature and people. During this period, he wrote poems such as My own Song and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry all the way. During the American Civil War, he inspired people to oppose slavery, praised war heroes and mourned the assassination of President Lincoln. Novels, poems and literary works include the collection of poems "Yaqui Valley". After the war, Whitman's poems exposed the hypocrisy of bourgeois democracy, eulogized the European revolutionary movement and praised human material civilization. His poems include The Mysterious Trumpeter and The Road to India. In art, Whitman broke the traditional rhythm of poetry and created a "free body" to fully express his thoughts and feelings. His creation has a great influence on the development of European and American poetry. My own Song, My Drum Song, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Mysterious Trumpeter, The Road to India, etc.
Walt whitman (18 19 ~ 1892) is the greatest poet in American history. His Leaves of Grass represents the peak of American romantic literature and is a masterpiece of world literature. Leaves of Grass reflects the development of the United States from an agricultural economy to an industrial power before and after the Civil War, and praises the rise of a new nation with a new optimistic voice. Whitman doesn't create for religion and the current system, and doesn't care about the trivial elegance of tea and painting in the upper class. The objects of his praise are drivers, miners, farmers and other manual workers at the lower level of society. He is full of confidence in the future of the United States. He is a true national poet. In style, Whitman completely abandoned the old rules and regulations and expressed his free thoughts in the form of free body. In terms of freehand brushwork, he was influenced by the photographic technology just invented at that time. In addition to the pursuit of taking pictures, there is also a poem that captures the moment when you step on the brakes and shows movement in a static state. More groundbreaking, he broke the religious taboo of 1000 years and sang Comradeshi loudly for the first time. P), and optimistically predicted that a new era of gay love will come, which will promote social progress. More than a century later, the ideals and enterprising spirit expressed in Whitman's poems are still the source of power for homosexuals in the United States and other countries to pursue freedom and liberation. However, Whitman's self-liberation has experienced a tortuous mental journey.
Whitman dropped out of school at the age of eleven and has never had a stable job since. He has been living a bohemian life, mixing with the lower classes such as dockers and drivers. In his early works, his strong desire was suppressed and his mind was still confused. At Brooklyn Ferry, he wrote:
When landing and landing,
I heard young people calling my name happily in a clear voice.
They put their arms around my neck when I was standing,
When I sat down, their bodies clung to me unconsciously,
On the street, on the ferry, at public meetings,
How many times have I seen these people I love, but I have nothing to say.
1848, Whitman was invited to be an editor of a local newspaper in French-speaking New Orleans, fascinated by the Latin passion there, but suddenly left three months later. It is said that he had an affair with a local lady and almost caused a scandal, so he had to leave in a hurry before the incident. Some poems he wrote at that time to express his affection for the opposite sex seemed to prove this point, and the truth didn't come out until later generations discovered these manuscripts in 1925. For the convenience of publication, the poet changed the original male title in the manuscript to female. For example, the original text of "I walked downtown" should be:
I have walked through downtown areas and have been paying attention to the decoration, architecture and customs of streets.
Now I'm walking around the city, thinking only about those people who have been bothering me since I met them that day.
Day after day, night after night, we are always together and forget everything in the dust.
I can only see his warm embrace.
Confused again and again, happy again and again, separated again and again,
He held my hand tightly and didn't want to let me go.
I saw him hugging me tightly, his closed lips trembling.
It can be seen that although the poet tasted the forbidden fruit for the first time, the secular taboos made it difficult for him to accept and return the love of the other party, and his inner fear forced him to escape from happiness.
1855, the first edition of Leaves of Grass came out, which represented the change of the poet's thought. The grass leaves neither blossom nor bear fruit. Even if they are trampled by people and burned by wildfires, they are still all over the earth, showing infinite vitality. Isn't this the portrayal of homosexuality? Leaves of Grass praises the power of sexual love, and often shows the praise of male body. It was so avant-garde that no publisher dared to take over. Finally, the poet had to raise funds for his own publication. Nevertheless, he had to make some cuts and changes, such as changing male address to female address to cover up homosexuality. "Cover up, deliberately cover up. Some paragraphs have to look awkward. " The poet said to Edward Carpenter, a pioneer of the British gay movement and a member of the Bruce Bree group. (1) However, the poet's love for life can't be concealed by any environmental pressure. This passion came out in generate at the beginning of the poetry collection:
I want to sing women and men.
Life is full of passion, heartbeat and strength.
Be happy, the sacred nature has set us free,
I want to sing modern people.
There are many works written by poets in the poetry collection, so this "modern man" is the progressive trend of thought represented by Whitman who despises the existing system and order and pursues soul autonomy.
Grass leaves hold hands,
People are old and young!
On the Mississippi River, on its tributaries and streams,
Boatman and mechanic! Rough man!
Couples of people! You people walking in the street!
I will stay with you until one day I see you holding hands.
Between 1858 and 1859, Whitman fell in love with a man named m, and this love made him completely accept himself. It's a pity that M didn't return Whitman's love very well. The poet was so exhausted that he almost wanted to commit suicide. "My passionate love didn't get anything in return, so let me write it down on paper." When Leaves of Grass was reprinted on 1860, despite the strong opposition from publishers and friends, the poet insisted on including Acorus calamus, which was created during this period, and began to boldly praise homosexuality.
I want this fire to burn my body and mind,
I want the passion buried under the smoke, generate,
I'm going to throw it away completely,
I want to predict and sing about homosexuality and love.
In the United States, the reed flute grows in the eastern pond. It is named after the river god Acorus calamus. He was heartbroken by the unfortunate death of capps, a gay man, and tears flowed down the lush reed flute shaped like an erect male genitalia. Whitman took the reed flute as the topic, and the gay feelings reflected in it have been exposed completely.
On the unpaved grass path,
By the pond where the clear water overflowed,
The lost soul shows life again,
The pleasures, desires and dogmas that have imprisoned my thoughts for many years.
Has disappeared without a trace.
Although no one will agree, my soul clearly feels that,
My singer is immersed in gay love.
Away from the noise of the world,
Our words are fragrant,
I am at home in this corner where no one comes.
A strong life accompanied me and showed me everything I sought.
I'm determined to sing only friendship,
Let this song last until the end of my life,
Pass on this energetic love to future generations.
This afternoon in September of 4 1 year,
I live for all young and once young men,
I want to tell the secret that haunts me day and night,
I want to celebrate gay love.
(on an unpaved grass path)
Come on, I'll show you my broad breasts,
I want to break through this suffocation and depression; ……
I want to plant gay love and make it as rich as American banks.
Trees by the lake and on the Yuan Ye,
I want to use gay love
Let the city be like an arm around their necks and never part.
Some people say I want to destroy this system,
But I neither agree with nor oppose this system.
What do I know about the system? What do you know about its destruction? )
I want to go to Manhattan, every city, inland or seaside,
In the field, in the jungle, in every inch of the horizontal line,
No buildings, no laws, no businessmen, no arguments,
Establish a closed system of homosexual love.
186 1 year, when the American civil war broke out, Whitman was assigned to be a nurse because he was over age. Abundant energy, strong personality charm and careful care for patients have won the love of many soldiers. Even doctors say that Whitman's appearance can often miraculously turn patients around like Jesus Christ, while poets believe that sympathy, friendship and love can cure pain more than any medicine. "I am sacred from the inside out. Anyone who has been touched by me will become sacred." He once fell in love with some of the soldiers and even offered to form a family with them, but after the war, they all went their separate ways. Nevertheless, the poet keeps in touch with many soldiers, and every letter always begins with "Dear children and comrades".
This experience made Whitman further realize the power and importance of homosexual love, and also made his praise of homosexuality transcend personal feelings. He believes that the recognition of homosexual love is not only a sign of social progress, but also a progressive force to promote social development. The sublimation of the poet's thought is reflected in his view of democracy, which paved the way for him to write Song of Self.
After the Civil War, Whitman met Peter Doyle, a coachman aged 19, and began the most fulfilling love journey in his life. /kloc-one winter night in 0/866, the poet got into a carriage driven by Peter. "There was no one else in the car at that time. I saw that he was shivering with cold with only a blanket on his shoulder, so I wanted to comfort him. When I put my hand on his knee, we knew everything about each other when we looked at each other. He sat all the way to the finish line and then came back with me. Since then, we have become the closest friends. " This is Peter's first meeting with Whitman in an interview on 1895.
Whitman and Peter stayed together for the next few years. Whitman waits for Peter to get off work every day, and at night they always drive out and go out together. Sometimes they walk in the moonlight and lie under the stars together. Peter can't read, so Whitman teaches him Chinese, arithmetic and geography. Although the two later moved with their families and Lao Yan parted ways, they still met regularly. "Peter is a very unusual person. He knows nothing about books, but he knows everything in life. He is an energetic worker forever, as generous as God. " Whitman said. The rich love life made the poet praise homosexuality to an extremely cheerful degree, and wrote Song of Me, which was later added to Leaves of Grass, representing the peak of his creation.
I believe in you, my soul, you are my other half, and I will not despise you.
And I will never let others belittle you.
We were lounging on the grass and I unbuttoned the first button of your coat.
I don't want words, music or rhythm, any custom or discipline,
Nothing else,
Let me indulge in this silence, indulge in your rich voice like brass music.
I remember another transparent summer morning when we were lying together.
Your head is lying between my hips, turning gently,
You unbutton my shirt, your tongue sticks into my bare chest,
Touched my beard and feet.
I immediately felt the peace and understanding brought by transcending the trivial world.
I know that the hand of God is my future,
I know that the spirit of God is my brother,
All men are my brothers and all women are my sisters.
Love is the foundation of creation,
Love is as boundless as the strong and weak blades of grass on the Yuan Ye.
Love lives in the cave where ants live,
Love is on the mossy fence, in the rubble,
In Trichosanthes kirilowii, Elderberry and Phytolacca acinosa.
The friendship between Whitman and Peter lasted until the poet died, but even on his deathbed, Whitman was still full of love for life.
The flame is still burning in the weak and slow blood,
Belief in homosexuality and love is still evergreen.
A century has passed, Whitman's poems have been widely praised, and the ideal world of gay love he yearns for has not yet arrived, but the poet's declaration to the world will always inspire the majority of comrades, as the pioneer of British gay movement and later Whitman student Kaben said in a letter 1872:
"Although there is still a long way to go, my confusion disappears at the thought of a bright future. Dear friend, your efforts have made it more and more possible for men all over the world to walk hand in hand. For this dream, you gave your life, and your descendants will go through fire and water at all costs, because the spiritual reward brought by this struggle exceeds any torture and pain. "
"Although it is still difficult for us to define strong and pleasant homosexual love, that is, emotional snuggling between men, this kind of love runs through the principle of redemption, which does not change with the transformation of time and space. When this love is mature and deeply rooted in people's hearts, a nation's future full of hope and happiness has arrived. " A great poet's greatest contribution in his life is to be a comrade? I understand their situation, but don't turn this entry into a pure gay declaration. Whitman's greatest contribution lies in new poetry, and other aspects and sexual orientation are not the focus. This sentence was left by the editor of the last entry, but it was revised because the words used were a bit extreme and inappropriate. )]
-Excerpted from Whitman's View of Democracy
note:
(1) "Bruce Bree Group" was organized by intellectuals of Cambridge University at the beginning of this century, and its members were mostly homosexuals, including writers E.M. Foster, Henry James, Virginia wolf, historian Leiden Sterlacci and economist Keynes. See the sixth issue of Keynes.
(2) Later generations found that in Whitman's handbook, all lovers were called by their initials. Before it was published, all male names were changed to female names. To truly understand Whitman's original intention, we should change the praise for women when reading his poems into the praise for men.