A Comparative Study of Whitman and Frost

田寨耕

【Abstract】Walt Whitman and Robert Frost are both famous poets in American literary history. They share a great deal in common. This paper attempts to make a study of the two poets by means of comparing their similarities and differences.

【Key Words】Whitman Frost similarities differences

Whitman and Frost are both famous poets in American literary history. The former lived in the 19th century and the latter in the 20th century， but they share a great deal in common. So this paper attempts to study the two poets by comparing their similarities and differences.

I. Similarities. Although they lived in two different times， they are similar in many ways.

Firstly， both of them did various jobs and had rich life experiences， which are important to a poet. Whitman worked successively as an apprentice to a printer， a countryside schoolteacher and an editor of various newspapers. In 1848， Whitman was dismissed from his job for favoring the exclusion of slavery from new states and had to return to Brooklyn， his home， where he helped his old father run their small bookstore and printing house， or worked occasionally at carpentry and odd jobs. Frost worked early or late as a shoemaker， schoolteacher， farmer and college professor.

Secondly， they both loved nature. Whitman was born in a village on Long Island and lived there till he was four years old. After he grew up， he served as a countryside school teacher for years. And Frost， too， once worked as a farmer for six years. These rural experiences brought them close to nature and developed their love of nature， which is reflected in many of their poems.

Thirdly， both of them wrote poems in a style that was different from that of other poets of their times. Whitman， being the father of the free verse， wrote poems in the new poetic style while other poets of the 19th century wrote in traditional forms. In the 20th century， the free verse became more and more popular and the majority of poets accepted the style， but Frost held to the traditional form by writing poems with beat and rhyme.

Finally， they both wrote poems in simple language so that the general public could understand. Whitmans most well-known collection of poems is Leaves of Grass. What does the name mean？ It refers to common things and common people， because they are as common as leaves of grass. The name implies that these poems are written about common people and for common people. And Frost， he learned from a 19th century British Romantic poet Wordsworth by adopting common terms to express feelings and depicting daily situations and events.endprint

II. The differences between Whitman and Frost

First， different family backgrounds. Whitman was born in a poor family. His father was a poor farmer in a village on Long Island， who moved to Brooklyn， New York in 1823 to earn money by carpentry and building houses. But Frosts father once worked as a school principal and then a journalist， and his grandfather bought him a farm in 1900.

Second， different education backgrounds. Whitman received only elementary education and then dropped out because of poverty while Frost continued his schooling till he entered Harvard University. Of course， Frost was born fifty-five years later than Whitman and enjoyed much more opportunities for education.

Third， different styles of writing poems. Whitman wrote poems in the free verse while Frost did in the traditional form.Soon after1848 Whitman created a new poem style ---- the free verse， for he thought that the voice of democracy should not be haltered by such traditional poetic forms as rhyme and beat. But Frost， although he lived in the 20th century when most poets wrote in free verse， stuck to the traditional form. He said that writing poems without beat and rhyme is just like playing tennis without the net and therefore rarely wrote in the free verse.

Last， different treatments when alive. Although today Whitman and Frost are both considered great poets in the U.S. literary history， they enjoyed different treatments when alive. Whitman made little money and received little praise for his poetry until he was 62 . By contrast， Frost was much more fortunate. Recommended and helped by such famous U.S. poets as Pond and Gibson， Frost had his poems published smoothly first in England and then in the U.S. and soon became well-known. Later， Frost won four Pulitzer Prizes and many other honors. In 1961 he was invited to President Kennedys inauguration ceremony， an honor that few poets had enjoyed.endprint