Talk:Walt Whitman: Difference between revisions
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== Not attempting a biography here== | |||
People seem to be obsessed with analyzing Whitman's life. That is done so extensively elsewhere that I have not even attempted it here. Instead, I included a couple of short excerpts of his writing, because there is so much verbiage ''about'' Whitman that people may not have had a chance simply to read the work he left behind to be read.[[User:Pat Palmer|Pat Palmer]] ([[User talk:Pat Palmer|talk]]) 21:09, 22 September 2020 (UTC) | |||
== A perfect short poem is rare, and Whitman made one == | == A perfect short poem is rare, and Whitman made one == | ||
Revision as of 15:09, 22 September 2020
Not attempting a biography here
People seem to be obsessed with analyzing Whitman's life. That is done so extensively elsewhere that I have not even attempted it here. Instead, I included a couple of short excerpts of his writing, because there is so much verbiage about Whitman that people may not have had a chance simply to read the work he left behind to be read.Pat Palmer (talk) 21:09, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
A perfect short poem is rare, and Whitman made one
I've spent a fair amount of time reading Leaves of Grass, and I don't consider it to be easy for mainstream readers. I included in this article two brief examples of Whitman writing at his very best. The short poem 'A Noiseless Patient Spider' is on a par with the greatest short poems in the world, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's lyrical 'Wanderer's Nightsong II' (Über allen Gipfeln), considered one of the best poems ever written in German[1]:Pat Palmer (talk) 18:10, 20 September 2020 (UTC)
Über allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh, In allen Wipfeln Spürest du Kaum einen Hauch; Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde. Warte nur, balde Ruhest du auch.
O'er all the hilltops Is quiet now, In all the treetops Hearest thou Hardly a breath; The birds are asleep in the trees: Wait, soon like these Thou too shalt rest. (H. W. Longfellow, translator)
Notes
- ↑ Because Goethe's poem is lyrical and includes both rhyming and alliteration, it loses much in translation.