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1、英语83班陈雯0831080WaltWhitmanLifeandBackgroundWaltWhitman(1819~1892)wasborninWestHills,LongIsland,NewYork.Hisfatherwasafarmerandlaterasomewhatnomadiccarpenter,whohadn’treceivedasoundeducation,butwassomethingofafreethinker,acquaintedwithpowerfulpersonalitiesliketheagedThomasPaine.Hismoth
2、erdevoutQuaker.In1823,thefamilymovedtoBrooklyn,whereWalthadhisschooling(1825–30).From1830to1836heheldvariousjobs,someofthemonnewspapersinBrooklynandManhattan.From1836to1841hewasaschoolteacherinLongIsland,despitethepaucityofhisowneducation.ThedivisionofWhitman'searlylifebetweentownan
3、dcountrylaterenabledhimtodepictbothenvironmentswithequalunderstandingandsympathy.HealsotraveledextensivelythroughoutAmerica,andsocouldappreciatethevariousregionsoftheland. Between1841and1851Whitmaneditedvariousperiodicalsandnewspapers.Itwas,apparently,duringthisperiodthathebegantoco
4、mposethepoemswhichwerelaterpublishedasLeavesofGrass. In1862Walt'sbrotherGeorgewaswoundedintheCivilWar.WhenWhitmantraveledtoVirginiatovisithim,hesawlargenumbersofthewoundedinhospitals.TheCivilWarwasamajoreventinWhitman'scareer,stirringbothhisimaginationandhissensibilityandmakinghimad
5、resserofspiritualwoundsaswellasofphysicalonesasheworkedasavolunteerinhospitals.Lincoln’sassassination(1865)alsomovedWhitmandeeply,andseveralpoemsbeartestimonyofhisintensegrief.In1865WhitmanwasfiredfromhispostintheDepartmentoftheInteriorinWashingtonbecauseoftheallegedindecencyofLeave
6、sofGrass.HewashiredbytheAttorneyGeneral'sofficeandremainedthereuntil1873whenhesufferedamildparalyticstrokewhichlefthimasemi-invalid.InWhitman'slastyears(1888–92),hewasmostlyconfinedtohisroominthehousewhichhehadboughtinCamden,NewJersey.Twofriends,HoraceTraubelandThomasB.Harned,attend
7、edhim.HediedonMarch26,1892.ThusendedthelifelongpilgrimageoftheGoodGrayPoet(ashiscontemporary,criticW.D.O'Connor,calledhim),animmortalinAmericanliterature. WorksLeavesofGrassWaltWhitmanischieflyknownasapoet,thoughhedidsomeprosework.HismasterpieceisLeavesofGrass.Inthisbook,Whitmancoll
8、ectedallhispoems.Wh
