In what ways, good and bad, has Whitmans poetry influenced the development of American poetry?
Much of what is great and glorious about American poetry comes from Whitman. So does much of what is pretentious and self-indulgent. Whitman’s range, energy, and originality set a standard of ambition and invention that has inspired American literature ever since. But his influence has also been troublesome. Whitman made himself the central subject of his poetry. Who else would create an epic poem titled “Song of Myself”? Whitman brought it off with humor, tenderness, and joyful exuberance, but his example gave permission to lesser poets to talk endlessly about themselves. Not everyone’s life deserves an epic poem. That is the trouble with genius it’s so hard to imitate. One arguable defect of contemporary poetry is that, in terms of subject matter, it tends to bite off far less than it can chew. That certainly couldn’t be said of Whitman. How would you characterize his large ambitions in this regard and how well did he realize them? No one can accuse Whitman of being modest. “I am lar
