ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Whitman borrowed a lot from Emerson’s conceptions of transcendentalism while he maneuvered, revised, and recreated these ideas in his own works. Transcendentalism is an intellectual movement that flourished in the nineteenth century, which had a significant influence on the formation of American spirit and literature.

Detailed explanation-2: -One of the transcendental beliefs that found a place in Whitman’s poetry is the idea of an individual being the spiritual center of existence and the knowledge creator. In Song of Myself, Whitman (1855) confirms his life’s value because of the poetry.

Detailed explanation-3: -Whitman wasn’t a Transcendentalist. He bridged the gap between Realism and Transcendentalism. Realism is a style of literature that focused on the life of the everyday, common, middle class man or the “everyman.” It is a reaction to the works done in the romantic period.