Dickinson and Whitman

Walt Whitman’s writing style can best be described as —

• bold and confident
• folksy and charming
• elegant and refined
• levated and sublime

Unlike Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson was —

• a world traveler
• private and shy
• people-oriented
• involved in social causes

An important similarity shared by Whitman and Dickinson is their--

• fondness for big-city living

• obscurity during their lifetime

• rejection by the literary community

• abandonment of literary conventions

Whitman saw the purpose of his poetry as a —

• message to the future
• relic of his childhood
• religious duty
• tool of social reform

Whitman’s feelings about his own poems are best revealed by his —

• instructions to have them destroyed
• refusal to publish them until after his death
• decision to self-publish at his own expense
• ^{pursuit of other occupations he considered more worthwhile}

Whitman’s style and technique are based on cadence, which can be defined as the —

• regular rhyme and rhythm used in ballads and epic poems

• rhythm created by the natural rise and fall of the voice when speaking

• use of exact rhymes, as in Romantic poetry

• ^{use of iambic pentameter, in the manner of William Shakespeare}

Whitman’s use of cadence forms the basis of his —

• rhymes
• essays
• sonnets
• free verse

Dickinson’s poetry is noted for its —

• historical value
• errors in word usage
• precise language
• epic sweep

Dickinson did not achieve fame in her lifetime largely because —

• she disagreed with the way her work was edited

• the majority of her poetry was published only after her death

• her poetry was banned

• she believed poetry was not meant to be published

Which of the following statements best describes the influence of Dickinson and Whitman on later poets?

• Later poets felt inferior and stopped writing.
• After Dickinson and Whitman’s time, poets were treated with great respect.
• The poetry of Dickinson and Whitman moved people to social action.
• Later poets were more open to experimentation.