Walt Whitman and Hawk Man
Walt Whitman was not a transcendentalist. Firstly, He dose not fit into the right time period. He's to late. It can be argued that he was effected and even inspired by the movement, But so was Mya Angelo, and she's not a transcendentalist. At best he serves as a bookend. He represents the end of an era. He is the son, who takes on the family business and as his first act as owner is to rearrange all of the inventory and name himself employee of the month. Yes, It is difficult to talk about the transcendentalist's with out mentioning Walt Whitman. However, only in the same way that it is hard to talk about the League of Nations without mentioning the United Nations. (That, or the Justice League of America without mentioning the Super Friends. {By the way, what where Hawk Man and Wonder Woman doing in the Justice League of America? They weren't American.
Walt Whitman's use of free verse became appreciate...
English: Manuscript handwritten by Walt Whitman, A...
Walt Whitman and Bill DuckettHawk Man wasn't even wasn't human. Yeah, Superman wasn't an earthling either, but at least he had citizenship.}).
Although he sought to become more than himself through his work, this is not a trait reserved only to transcendentalists. If every poet who made more out of their subject than the literal was a transcendentalist than they all would qualify. That's what poets do; If they didn't, we'd just call them writers. It just so happens that Whitman's subject matter in Song of Myself was himself ( I'm not sure if I really needed to say that). He took on multiple roles throughout the poem, constantly redefining himself in the hope of becoming undefinable. This idea can be seen in one his final statements; "Do I contradict myself? Very well than I contradict myself. ( I am large,