Whitmania: Round 8, Wrapping Up.

What is known I strip away,
I launch men and women forward with me into the Unknown.

Do I contradict myself?
Very well, then I contradict myself
(I am large, I contain mutitudes).

To end my study on Whitman I thought it would be helpful to think of the poet himself as transcendental. He is man that has remained alive and vibrant through the years and even through movements, as I hope I have proven comparing him to the British Romantics. I thought this final quotation shows Whitman’s true nature. He was concerned with stripping away commonly held beliefs about religion, Nature and America. What is also important is that he called us to do the same. He was not content only expressing his views but through his work he inspires his readers to do the same.

Whitman also recognized that as he grew his views changed and he may even contain contradictions, like Blake. He refused to be pinned down by the norms of his society and was not afraid to express and explore all the facets of his own personality even if they were in opposition to each other. It is this that makes Whitman timeless and memorable as a Romantic.