Walt Whitman was born in Long Island in 1819. He was a poet, journalist and humanist from the 19th century. During the civil war he worked as a teacher, and a volunteer nurse in addition to publishing poetry. He was part of the transcendentalist movement and realism, his works containing both views. The “Calamus” in Leaves of Grass promotes the manly love of comrades, however it can be seen as homosexual love. The poems are personal and seem to be telling the story between the narrator and a male love. In his works Whitman talks about “comradeship” which of course could be interpreted as a code for homosexual love. Like homosexuality itself Whitman refuses to be shaken off (Tayson 4). I believe from what I have read that Whitman is attracted to men, and enjoys being with them.
In “The Base of All Metaphysics” Whitman says “The dear love of a man for his comrade, the attraction of friend to friend, of the well married husband and wife, of children and parents, Of city fir city, and land for land” (102). I believe this poem to be about relationships, including homosexual relationships, because when he talks about the dear love of a man for his comrade it is not friendship since he talks about it after. Also ““for the one I live most lay sleeping by me infer the came cover in the cool night, In the stillness in the autumn moonbeams his face was inclined towards me, and his arm lay lightly around my breast-and that night I was happy” (103) in “When I Heard at the Close of the Day” seems to be showing the relationship the author has with his lover, another male, and how he worships it. “Calamus” gives the impression to be about Whitman’s interest for men.
Works Cited
Tayson, Richard "The Casualties of Walt Whitman." 79-95. Virginia Quarterly Review, 2005. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Dec. 2009.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. New York: Bantam Dell, 2004
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Whitman comes from a time when “homosexuality” was not a term. During this time there was an occurrence of “romantic relationships;” referring to the intimate relationship between two males. These would not necessarily mean the men were having sex, but they did express their love to each other through letters or poems. This is most likely something Whitman may have experienced, but since the language in his poems can be ambiguous and homosexuality was not a term, it is difficult to know if Whitman was male-oriented or if he had romantic relationships.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with jmcogo4,it is hard to tell if Whitman was really what we call "homosexuality." Intimate relationship between two males can be easily be mistaken as two males in a deeper relation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you guys; however, from what i have read in my research, it shows that he is more likely to have had intimate relationships with males, whether it was sexual or a friendship, i believe he had physical relations with men, even though he had a family and children.
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