This is a very surface level thought, but it is still so jarring to me to compare the lengthy, 50-page poems we were reading from Whitman to the sometimes only 4-8 line poems from Dickinson. Which do you prefer? As of now, I think I prefer Dickinson because even though her poems are harder to understand, they feel more fun to read (sorry Whitman). Also, Dickinson is a woman, and I’m always going to choose a woman over a man (not sorry Whitman).
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I have to say I prefer Dickinson, but I do think I’m bias because I’m a woman (lol). Reading through her poetry and letters, I feel much more connected to her work. Also, Whitman did (especially in Song of Myself) talk a lot about being alive and free and “containing multitudes,” which I admire so dearly as he represented SO many perspectives. But I think what’s making me feel more connected to Dickinson is that she’s the opposite… she talks of death, and she speaks from the unspoken/hidden (the wife, the “weirdo,” etc) point-of-view, and what often feels like a solitary one (solitary in the sense that it feels like one person talking, oftentimes about their silent experiences). Whitman feels like the world; Dickinson feels like the solitude of a single mind.