Chapter One INTRODUCTION
1.1 An Introduction to Whitman and Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman was born in Long Island. His ancestors were English and Dutch farmers. His father lived in the age of first revolution. Bored of seeing the cruelty of war, his family hankered for a democratic and stable future. In 1819, Walt Whitman was born and his family left for Brooklyn. His father expected to build frame houses to make a fortune but the expectations backfired. The poverty of the family forced little Walt to work in a young age. Whitman successively undertook several jobs, such as an apprentice in a printer house, a rural teacher. Although he received no training or formal education, He kept learning by himself. Later, he became a journalist in Kansas Press and wrote the famous Specimens Day enlightened by his experience here. Apart from this，he also worked as a nurse during the American Civil War, which was reflected in the Leaves of Grass. In 1855, Whitman published his masterpiece Leaves of Grass with his own money and lost his job in the Department of interior. In 1873, Walt Whitman suffered from a paralytic stroke and was induced to his brother George Washington Whitman’s home. In 1891, he finished a final edition (which has been called “deathbed edition”) of Leaves of Grass. In 1892, Whitman died.
1.1 An Introduction to Whitman and Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman was born in Long Island. His ancestors were English and Dutch farmers. His father lived in the age of first revolution. Bored of seeing the cruelty of war, his family hankered for a democratic and stable future. In 1819, Walt Whitman was born and his family left for Brooklyn. His father expected to build frame houses to make a fortune but the expectations backfired. The poverty of the family forced little Walt to work in a young age. Whitman successively undertook several jobs, such as an apprentice in a printer house, a rural teacher. Although he received no training or formal education, He kept learning by himself. Later, he became a journalist in Kansas Press and wrote the famous Specimens Day enlightened by his experience here. Apart from this，he also worked as a nurse during the American Civil War, which was reflected in the Leaves of Grass. In 1855, Whitman published his masterpiece Leaves of Grass with his own money and lost his job in the Department of interior. In 1873, Walt Whitman suffered from a paralytic stroke and was induced to his brother George Washington Whitman’s home. In 1891, he finished a final edition (which has been called “deathbed edition”) of Leaves of Grass. In 1892, Whitman died.
Leaves of Grass, as Whitman’s masterpiece, was first published in 1855 and later gradually revised until Whitman’s death. This work includes many critical issues in contemporary America，involving democracy and freedom, individualism, Patriotism and the relationship between human community and nature and so on. Whitman’s pioneering use of free verse in this work, also drew many later writers to imitate.
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1.2 Literature Review about Whitman and Leaves of Grass
1.2.1 Studies at home
Whitman is known as the father of American poems. His free verse poems break the forms of traditional English poetry. Meanwhile, Whitman has been considered as a moralist and his thoughts can enlighten us to deal with social problems. Therefore, there are so many people digging into the sea of Whitman’s poems. So far, Chinese scholars have done many studies on Leaves of Grass.
Firstly, the topic of equality in the Leaves of Grass has drawn scholars’ attentions in the poems. Leaves of Grass contains abundant elements of democracy and freedom. And since equality is the important part of democracy, Leaves of Grass indirectly condemns the white domination and shows strong empathy towards the black society and expects people to communicate with mutual respects, which, to a large extent, reveals the element of equality. Deng Yin (1999) proposed that democracy and freedom were the basis of Leaves of Grass and she found that when people prepare to deal with natural problems, nature should be given equal attentions just like people. Chen Yongzhi (2003) reckoned that Leaves of Grass shared the similar opinions of pantheism with Goddess written by Guo moruo. They doubted about the inequality inside morality and law and both of them expected the equality will finally come to the world.
Secondly, scholars also do some researches on the images of Leaves of Grass, such as “Grass”, “Sea” and “I”. Zhu Chunlin (2005) focused on the image of “Grass” and found that “Grass” had at least four meanings. Detailly speaking, “Grass” can refer to a strong power over evilness; or indicate a developing American society. At the same time, it also can be used to praise numerous American people devoting themselves to the construction of America; it can reflect Whitman’s hope towards American society as well. Wang Xia (2008) furthered into the research of “I” in the Leaves of Grass, proposing the following three questions: what is people; who I am; what’s the relationship between infinity and finiteness.
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Chapter Two WHITMAN’S PURSUIT OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE EXPRESSED IN LEAVES OF GRASS
2.1 Whitman’s Challenge to Barriers of Aesthetic Experience in Leaves of Grass
Aesthetic experience is considered as the core of our compositions and an active role in rethinking and reshaping art (“Pragmatist Aesthetics” 45). In the traditional system of aesthetics, the autonomy and autocracy of aesthetic education have a strong impact on literature creation. However, they gradually become the fetters to search for abundant aesthetic experience. Therefore, Whitman tries to break the fetters of autonomy and protest against the aesthetic education.
2.1.1 Whitman’s breakthrough of autonomy
Autonomy has long been considered as the basis of art and as well as the standard of fine art, since it uses its sole gauge to normalize the forms of literature productions and allocations. However, such kind of normalization also can be considered as a fetter restricting writer’s creation of poetic forms in the content and form.
As for the content, autonomy fixes the meanings of words inside the books and refuses to change in terms of the alteration of different people’s emotional feelings and life experience. Then, when it comes to the form, especially in the area of poetry, autonomy only encourages poets to imitate those previous great bards, for instance, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Byron and so on. Both restrictions of content and form strongly forbid people from pursuing aesthetic experience.
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2.2 Whitman’s Exploration of the Meaning of Aesthetic Experience in Leaves of Grass
Whitman believes that aesthetic experience entails the fundamental role in artistic creation; moreover, people also still need to keep the distance between aesthetic experience and their life experience. Dramatization is good form to utilize aesthetic experience and keep the relative distance with aesthetic experience.
2.2.1 Aesthetic experience entailing the fundamental role in artistic creation
Aesthetic experience is a deep and natural human need and Whitman is just a great user of aesthetic experience. Through his use of aesthetic experience, which he finds that on the one hand, aesthetic experience can provide profound resources for his writings. To take Leaves of Grass as an example, it has been produced like a dairy. And in this work, Whitman records nearly everything he has heard with his sophisticated considerations. On the other hand, Whitman’s personal attitude can be proved and refined through the evidence of aesthetic experience. Whitman has perfectly shown that aesthetic experience actually provides him with many resources through his description in the Song of Joys:
The inspiration of this section comes from Whitman’s experience of going onto the ship. The core word “joys” largely owes to the natural human needs from the passengers. A Song of Joys can obviously manifests the aesthetic experience. Whitman first organizes many episodes of motions. By means of accumulating these life experiences, Whitman composes a beautiful poem for the expression of joys through the scenes of “dancing, clapping hands and other motions”. These motions come from people’s natural feelings but the poet is still eager for the best guidance of “the noblest and most intense joys of contemplations”. The integration of these motions can help Whitman convey great satisfaction and vigor to people, and further put forward that a good scholar should pursue a memorable and ultimate satisfying episodes of living ( Frank, “Aesthetic Democracy: Walt Whitman and the Poetry of the People” 411).
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1.2 Literature Review about Whitman and Leaves of Grass
1.2.1 Studies at home
Whitman is known as the father of American poems. His free verse poems break the forms of traditional English poetry. Meanwhile, Whitman has been considered as a moralist and his thoughts can enlighten us to deal with social problems. Therefore, there are so many people digging into the sea of Whitman’s poems. So far, Chinese scholars have done many studies on Leaves of Grass.
Firstly, the topic of equality in the Leaves of Grass has drawn scholars’ attentions in the poems. Leaves of Grass contains abundant elements of democracy and freedom. And since equality is the important part of democracy, Leaves of Grass indirectly condemns the white domination and shows strong empathy towards the black society and expects people to communicate with mutual respects, which, to a large extent, reveals the element of equality. Deng Yin (1999) proposed that democracy and freedom were the basis of Leaves of Grass and she found that when people prepare to deal with natural problems, nature should be given equal attentions just like people. Chen Yongzhi (2003) reckoned that Leaves of Grass shared the similar opinions of pantheism with Goddess written by Guo moruo. They doubted about the inequality inside morality and law and both of them expected the equality will finally come to the world.
Secondly, scholars also do some researches on the images of Leaves of Grass, such as “Grass”, “Sea” and “I”. Zhu Chunlin (2005) focused on the image of “Grass” and found that “Grass” had at least four meanings. Detailly speaking, “Grass” can refer to a strong power over evilness; or indicate a developing American society. At the same time, it also can be used to praise numerous American people devoting themselves to the construction of America; it can reflect Whitman’s hope towards American society as well. Wang Xia (2008) furthered into the research of “I” in the Leaves of Grass, proposing the following three questions: what is people; who I am; what’s the relationship between infinity and finiteness.
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Chapter Two WHITMAN’S PURSUIT OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE EXPRESSED IN LEAVES OF GRASS
2.1 Whitman’s Challenge to Barriers of Aesthetic Experience in Leaves of Grass
Aesthetic experience is considered as the core of our compositions and an active role in rethinking and reshaping art (“Pragmatist Aesthetics” 45). In the traditional system of aesthetics, the autonomy and autocracy of aesthetic education have a strong impact on literature creation. However, they gradually become the fetters to search for abundant aesthetic experience. Therefore, Whitman tries to break the fetters of autonomy and protest against the aesthetic education.
2.1.1 Whitman’s breakthrough of autonomy
Autonomy has long been considered as the basis of art and as well as the standard of fine art, since it uses its sole gauge to normalize the forms of literature productions and allocations. However, such kind of normalization also can be considered as a fetter restricting writer’s creation of poetic forms in the content and form.
As for the content, autonomy fixes the meanings of words inside the books and refuses to change in terms of the alteration of different people’s emotional feelings and life experience. Then, when it comes to the form, especially in the area of poetry, autonomy only encourages poets to imitate those previous great bards, for instance, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Byron and so on. Both restrictions of content and form strongly forbid people from pursuing aesthetic experience.
..............................
2.2 Whitman’s Exploration of the Meaning of Aesthetic Experience in Leaves of Grass
Whitman believes that aesthetic experience entails the fundamental role in artistic creation; moreover, people also still need to keep the distance between aesthetic experience and their life experience. Dramatization is good form to utilize aesthetic experience and keep the relative distance with aesthetic experience.
2.2.1 Aesthetic experience entailing the fundamental role in artistic creation
Aesthetic experience is a deep and natural human need and Whitman is just a great user of aesthetic experience. Through his use of aesthetic experience, which he finds that on the one hand, aesthetic experience can provide profound resources for his writings. To take Leaves of Grass as an example, it has been produced like a dairy. And in this work, Whitman records nearly everything he has heard with his sophisticated considerations. On the other hand, Whitman’s personal attitude can be proved and refined through the evidence of aesthetic experience. Whitman has perfectly shown that aesthetic experience actually provides him with many resources through his description in the Song of Joys:
The inspiration of this section comes from Whitman’s experience of going onto the ship. The core word “joys” largely owes to the natural human needs from the passengers. A Song of Joys can obviously manifests the aesthetic experience. Whitman first organizes many episodes of motions. By means of accumulating these life experiences, Whitman composes a beautiful poem for the expression of joys through the scenes of “dancing, clapping hands and other motions”. These motions come from people’s natural feelings but the poet is still eager for the best guidance of “the noblest and most intense joys of contemplations”. The integration of these motions can help Whitman convey great satisfaction and vigor to people, and further put forward that a good scholar should pursue a memorable and ultimate satisfying episodes of living ( Frank, “Aesthetic Democracy: Walt Whitman and the Poetry of the People” 411).
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3.1 Whitman’s Exploration of the Perceptive Function in Leaves of Grass ........ 33
3.1.1 Whitman’s analysis of body’s gestures ............................... 34
3.1.2 Whitman’s perception of the body taste .............................. 35
Chapter Four WHITMAN’S DIRECT DEFENSE OF POPULAR ART BY HIS WRITING PRACTICE OF LEAVES OF GRASS .............47 4.1 Whitman’s Absorption of Sources from Popular Art in Leaves of Grass ......... 47
4.1.1 Whitman drawing sources from the civilian topics ................................... 48
4.1.2 Whitman obtaining sources from the political topics ................................ 50
Chapter Five CONCLUSION ................................. 65
5.1 Academic Discoveries .................................... 65
5.2 Limitations of Thesis ................................. 67
Chapter Four WHITMAN’S DIRECT DEFENSE OF POPULAR ART BY HIS WRITING PRACTICE OF LEAVES OF GRASS
4.1 Whitman’s Absorption of Sources from Popular Art in Leaves of Grass
Popular art inclines to the ordinary people and thus it is generally called “mass art”. Therefore, it is sensitive about civilian topics taking place in the community of ordinary people. Meanwhile, it is also obsessive with political topics. Unlike high art based on the classic works, popular art underlines the function of local cultural environment. Leaves of Grass is just a popular work for American society and it draws sources from popular art. Firstly, Whitman focuses on the civilian topics in Leaves of Grass; secondly, Whitman bluntly discusses about the political topics in Leaves of Grass; last but not least, Whitman also cares about the local culture problems in Leaves of Grass.
4.1.1 Whitman drawing sources from the civilian topics
It is intrinsically right for Whitman to borrow sources from popular art. Such action provides part of the thick sense of interconnectedness which enriches a cultural tradition (“Pragmatist Aesthetics” 175). For popular art, it is apt to choose topic quite close to civilian people’s lives. And such topic is so close civilian people’s lives that can cause strong empathy among civilian. Coincidentally, Whitman also discovers the potential of civilian topics in the literature composition. As a result, he intentionally utilizes them in his poem. In Whitman’s age, there are two big events enormously changing civilian lives. In the economic sphere, Industrial Revolution turns into an overwhelming wave promoting America to achieve economic prosperity; in the military sphere, the launch of Civil War constantly impinges on American people’s lives and causes the turmoil in their normal lives. Anyway, both of them have changed civilian lives but these events have been given little attention by many poets. Nevertheless, Whitman intends to unveil these neglected topics by means of his poems.
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Chapter Five CONCLUSION
5.1 Academic Discoveries
When looking back the history of Leaves of Grass, people can’t help exclaiming how the poem has been long cherished by today’s circle of art. It used to be blamed in the past. However, it finally goes through the test of years and grasps what it deserves today. Actually, the success of Leaves of Grass has close relationship with Pragmatist Aesthetic spirit. Whitman has persisted in the exploration of pragmatist elements through his composition of Leaves of Grass. It is assumed that Whitman’s pursuit of Pragmatist elements are affected by the famous pragmatist—John Dewey. Whitman is a close friend with Dewey and he is deeply affected by Dewey’s Pragmatist Aesthetics (Garrison, “Walt Whitman, John Dewey and Primordial Artistic Communication” 137). However, readers find that Whitman is never merely the follower or supporter of Dewey. He enriches and develops Pragmatist Aesthetics founded by Dewey just like what Richard Shusterman does. Therefore, the purpose of the thesis is to discover the Pragmatist Aesthetics elements which have genuinely existed in the Leaves of Grass and functioned as an instructive thought for Walt Whitman’s writing practice.
Generally speaking, Whitman in his Leaves of Grass has discussed about Pragmatist Aesthetics in depth, circling around the key points of aesthetic experience, Somaesthetics and popular art.
First of all, Leaves of Grass has persisted in the search of aesthetic experience. As is known to us, Whitman has always positioned himself as an American poet and he is eager to create a brand-new standard for American poems. Therefore, he innovatively manages to borrow the standard of aesthetic experience from the pragmatist Aesthetics to test his poems. And according to his consideration, the major concern about his composition is the fulfillment of aesthetic experience. Whitman takes aesthetic experience as the gauge of his composition, which can best liberate Whitman’s expressions from traditional works. In order to fulfill the expression of aesthetic experience, Whitman attempts to balance life experiences with the poet’s attitudes which is the core of the fulfillment of aesthetic experience. And at last, by means of the form of dramas, Whitman succeeds in fulfilling aesthetic experience. Besides, in response to the interpretation of aesthetic experience in the poems, Whitman follows the three principles of multiple interpretation (proposed by Richard Shusterman) —pluralistic, open and innovative principles. Anyway, Whitman fulfillment of aesthetic experience is a meaningful attempt for compositional innovation.
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