1.)
Walt Whitman and Edgar Allan Poe share the same types of literary characteristics when it comes to the revision and analysis of their work. Their works resemble the constant notion of revision as illustrated from several poems in Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and Poe’s short stories titled, “The Black Cat”, “Ligeia”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
2.)
By using evidence from my thesis, I will argue that the male narrators in “The Black Cat”, “Ligeia”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, experience an altered state of mind that heavily influences their characters outcome during each story. I will briefly give evidence how each of these stories holds similar to that of a constant revision, and how Poe is able to take the male narrator and transform him into a new, constant revision with every work. By stating this information, I will be able to link Poe’s work to the idea of Whitman constantly revising Leaves of Grass to provide the audience with a different meaning and understanding of the story.
When placing the primary focus on Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, I plan on using poems from the selection “Poem of Many in One” and “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”. Not only using these poems to help my argument how Whitman and Poe are similar in their literary revision efforts, but also using Ed Folsom’s “Re-scripting Walt Whitman.”
3.)
With various editions of ”Leaves of Grass”, Walt Whitman was able to incorporate new selections of poems within each edition, with the tendency of revising. This can be best illustrated throughout “Poem of Many in One.” A twenty two-page work that he was able to compose for the second edition of Leaves of Grass. “It was a thesis poem that became Whitman’s most thoroughly revised text yet remained through subsequent editions Whitman’s definitive social statement.” (Peter Simonson, 358)
4.)
I will also incorporate Edgar Allan Poe’s essay titled “The Philosophy of Composition.” By using this essay, it will allow me to explore Poe’s mindset of his literary works including his short stories and poems. One of the most important things for during this project will be to not overlook Whitman and Poe’s work. It will be very important to use specific evidence from both of the writers and pull poems that generally fit the same tone.
