WaltWhitman was born in 1819 in New York City. During his long life, he watched -组卷网

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Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in New York City. During his long life, he watched America grow from a young nation to the strongest industrial power in the world. Whitman was influenced by events around him. But his poetry speaks of the inner self. He celebrated great people like President Abraham Lincoln. He also celebrated common people.

As a young man, Whitman worked as a school teacher, printer and newspaper reporter. He was 36 years old when his first book of poetry was published. He called it Leaves of Grass. It had only twelve poems. The poems were written in free verse. The lines did not follow any set form. Some lines were short and some were long. The words at the end of each line did not have a similar sound. They did not rhyme.

One of America’s greatest thinkers and writers immediately recognized the importance of Leaves of Grass. Ralph Waldo Emerson praised Whitman’s work. But most other poets and writers said nothing or denounced it.

The American Civil War began in 1861. During the war, Whitman worked without pay at army hospitals. He helped care for wounded and dying soldiers. He sat beside these men for hours. He brought them food and wrote letters for them. After the Civil War, Whitman worked for government agencies. He watched the United States try to heal itself and increase democracy (民主)To Walt Whitman, democracy was more than a political system or idea. It was the natural form of government for free people. Whitman believed democracy was meant to honor the rights of every person and the equality of all people.

In 1873, Walt Whitman suffered a stroke (中风). He spent the last years of his life in Camden, New Jersey and wrote more poems. Whitman was poor and weak during the last years of his life. He died in 1892.

【小题1】Walt Whitman expressed his feelings by ________.