Emily Dickinson:
- Personification: Dickinson frequently uses personification to give human attributes to non-human entities or abstract concepts. Her poems are filled with personified elements of nature, emotions, or even concepts like time and death.
- Figurative Language: Dickinson extensively uses figurative language, including metaphors, similes, allusions, and complex imagery. Her concise and compact poetic style often relies on condensed and symbolic expression, making her poems rich in figurative elements.
Walt Whitman:
- Direct Expression: Whitman's poetry is characterized by its straightforward, direct, and unadorned language. He often favors simple and declarative statements, aiming for a colloquial tone and direct communication with the readers.
- Avoidance of Figurative Language: Whitman generally avoided traditional poetic devices like personification, metaphors, or similes. He believed in the power of plain language and relied on his unique style of free verse, which often had long lines and a rhythmic flow that resembled the cadence of spoken language.
Conclusion:
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman had different approaches to poetic techniques. Dickinson's use of personification and rich figurative language stands in contrast to Whitman's tendency to avoid traditional figurative devices and his focus on direct, unadorned expression. While both poets achieved greatness through their unique styles, they provide distinctive examples of poetic craft in American literature.