Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were both influential poets of their times, and they have each retained their popularity over the years since. Both poets often tackle the theme of spirituality, but their views differ; Dickinson approaches the topic from the position of the afterlife, whereas Whitman contemplates spirituality from the perspective of life on earth.
The two poets differ in that Dickinson often writes from the perspective of someone who has already died, whereas Whitman uses speakers who are still alive on earth. The speaker of Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is a ghost, which straight away implies that the poet believed in some level of spirituality. However, the context for this afterlife is unclear; the speaker may be remembering her death from heaven, hell or a different realm altogether. Nevertheless, this doesn’t seem relevant to the poem. Conversely, Whitman’s speaker of “A Noiseless Patient Spider” spends a large portion of the poem contemplating the soul, for example: “And you O my soul where you stand” (Whitman “Noiseless” 6). This line represents the shift from a poem about nature into a poem about the fundamental human experience of spirituality.
Whitman’s poems differ from Dickinson’s in that he believes that body and soul are essentially interconnected, whereas her work implies that the body is useless and the afterlife is the most important part of existence. In “Song of Myself,” Whitman implies that spirituality can be found anywhere and need not be reliant on organized religions. Early on, in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” the speaker shows that she has accepted her death and the move to the afterlife: “And I had put away / My labor and my leisure too” (Dickinson “Because” 6-7). She is no longer worrying about work and hobbies and other earthly phenomena. Whitman, on the other hand, lives by the rule that life and reproduction are the keys the spirituality, which both exist on earth within the physical body. The following passage from “Song of Myself” demonstrates that he does not separate life from death in the same way as some people: “I have heard what the talkers were talking . . . . the talk of the beginning and the end, / But I do not talk of the beginning or the end” (Whitman “Song” 2).
While Dickinson’s poems appear quiet in tone, Whitman’s are more energetic. Whitman compares the soul to a spider, and claims that it is: “Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing” (Whitman “Noiseless” 8). Here the speaker implies that the soul things, moves forwards and is active in its development. This notion of spirituality is exciting and unique. As with “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” Dickinson explores the theme of spirituality in “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.” This poem also explores death and what happens afterwards. Again similarly to the former poem, the speaker of this one is already dead: “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” (Dickinson “Heard” 1). While the reader immediately knows that the speaker is dead, they are not told which realm she is in. Line fourteen is interesting: “Between the light – and me” (Dickinson “Heard” 14). The fly is getting in the way of the speaker’s vision, implying that it is cutting her off from the familiar world. Alternatively, it represents a darkness that can prevent a person moving successfully into the afterlife.
Dickinson and Whitman’s works share a common interest in spirituality, but their perspectives differ; while Dickinson considers the theme from the perspective of the afterlife, Whitman instead concentrates on the human concern over the meaning of life. The two poets are both very famous and prolific in their work, and both are likely to remain popular for many years to come.
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.” Poem Hunter. 1890. Web. 27 Jan 2017.
Dickinson, Emily. “I Heard a Fly Buzz.” Poem Hunter. 1896. Web. 27 Jan. 2017.
Whitman, Walt. “A Noiseless Patient Spider.” Poem Hunter. 1891. Web. 27 Jan. 2017.
Whitman, Walt. “Song of Myself.” Poem Hunter. 1855. Web. 27 Jan. 2017
