Whitman/Dickinson

I enjoyed reading Whitman's poems especially When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd. Even though it is written in free verse, the text seems to have momentum when its read like a rhythm. I appreciated how Whitman used nature and how it seemed to have a large role in most of his poetry as almost a personified force. In When Lilacs Last Whitman is definitely mourning someone, mentioning death, coffin, and seven stanzas of a song about death sung from a bird. This poem is quite a contrast to Poe's dark, manic, illustration of death in the two works that we read. Whitman's depiction of death has more depth to it, in relation to nature, modernity, and individuals. On another note, Whitman has a thing with lists and uses quite a bit of anaphora.
Emily Dickinson had a very different effect than Whitman. Comparably Dickinson was so clear cut and short that I found myself pausing after each line which disregarded the purpose of the meter. Maybe because I read Whitman right before and I used to his flowery and detailed rolling words this seemed so dry. It was so clear but also in a way not as clear, because there wasn't as much description to paint a picture from. The use of her word choice was important because the few adjectives and verbs is what my imagination depended on to portray the meaning for myself. Clearly Dickinson wasn't trying to make elaborate poetry, but for me it seemed harder to understand because there was less to work with.