Martin Farquhar Tupper

Martin F. Tupper wrote Proverbial Philosophy: A Book of Thoughts and Arguments.  It is a long series of didactic moralisings in blank verse and is said to be "prose cut up into suitable lengths."  It epitomized the moral and evangelical spirit of the mid 19th century.

Proverbial Philosophy is similar to Leaves of Grass in that they are both written in free verse and they somewhat didactic.  All of Tupper's works start with Of (some idea), "Of Truth in Things False", "Of Anticipation", "Of Education", "Of Pride."  Similar to how Walt titles his poems, "Song OF myself" or "Song FOR Occupations."  The title of the poem directly relates to the poem itself.  That might be something just of the period, but it it shows the reader what they can expect while at the same time being direct and confident about their work.  The authors, Tupper and Walt, could be using this as a strategy to preach.  There is a review written anonymously that also thinks the two are similar.  From "Walt Whitman's Poems." The Literary World, the critic writes, "The chaos of Mr. Whitmna's verse, to compare great with small, reminds us of the gray clay bluffs of Truro Beach.  Would it were as clean! In form he reminds us of Martin Farquhar Tupper."

I also found an excerpt from "Of Education" by Tupper to be fairly similar to some thing's Walt has said.  From "Of Education",

"mother, let him learn of thy lips, and be nourished at thy breast. character is mainly moulded by the cast of the minds that surround it: let then the playmates of thy little one be not other than thy judgement shall approve; for a child is in a new world, and learneth somewhat every moment, his eye is quick to observe, his memory storeth in secret..."

This reminds me of a mix between "Song of Myself" and "Song for Occupations."  The description of the lips and breast remind me of the part in "Song of Myself" where he is talking about the tongue.  The education of a child and how he/she grows up reminds me of "Song for Occupations."

Frances Wright

Frances Wright was a Scotland-born lecturer, writer, and abolitionist. She was the co-founder of the "Free Inquirer" newspaper and founded the Nashoba Commune where she wanted to educate slaves to prepare them for freedom.  She wanted to create a community in which it was multi-racial, a community of free blacks and whites.  Unfortunately, Wright became ill and the managers who took over during her illness and move back to Europe, had a stricter approach to the Commune and when she came back to Tennessee, the community had collapsed.

Her anti-slavery beliefs were interesting to Walt.  He went to see her speak at the anti-slavery halls in New York.  He spoke of her as, "a woman of the noblest make-up whose orbit was a great deal larger than theirs - too large to be tolerated for long by them...she touched the widest range of themes - spoke informally, colloquially.  She has always been to me one of the sweetest of sweet memories: we all loved her."  It seems he looked up to her.  He also says of her, "She was a brilliant woman, of beauty and estate, who was never satisfied unless she was busy doing good - public good, private good."  This speaks to Walt's beliefs on work which I have talked about in my past two posts!  The work she was doing was for the good of the people as well as herself.  She was learning more and teaching more and I think that was something that Walt was drawn to by her.

Barnum's American Museum

Barnum's Amercian Museum was a museum in "Whitman's New York."  He was recorded as going there at least a couple times and he even interviewed Mr. Barnum himself whose vision of the museum was to show what life is.  He is quoted as saying, "here it is life" (240).  I feel like Whitman would be intrigued with the attractions of the museum.  There was a Lecture Room, wax museum, zoo, and theatre.  All attractions that have to do with the arts, with the art of imagination and nature.

I see Whitman going here to experience the quirkiness of life.  There were such things as a mummified monkey and exotic animals.  The types of people going here would be an eclectic mix as well since the items in the attractions were probably not part of the social norm.   It seems that Whitman is very conscious of the people around him which could mean that he would be the type to enjoy people watching.  In an excerpt from Specimen Days, Broadway Sights, he describes Edgar Allan Poe.  "I have a distinct and pleasing remembrance of his looks, voice, manner and matter; very kindly human, but subdued, perhaps a little jaded.  For another of my reminiscences..a bent feeble but stout-built very old man, bearded, swathed in rich furs, with a great ermine cap on his head..."  His descriptions are so specific.

Unfortunately, Barnum's American Museum burned down in 1865.

Wilmot Proviso

A proviso is a clause in a contract where a condition is introduced.  The Wilmot Priviso was an event that lead to the Civil War.  This event would have banned slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.  It is named after Congressman David Wilmot.  It was brought to the House of Representatives in 1846 and it passed but it did not pass in the Senate since the South had a greater representation there.  It was reintroduced twice more and both failed.  Since this proposal looked to prohibit the extension of slavery, the debate over it provoked and reflected the growing separation and disagreements between the North and the South.

The Wilmot Proviso is related to Walt Whitman because he wrote about the Civil War which was a war between the North and the South.  As mentioned, the Wilmot Proviso came before the Civil War and basically solidified the disagreements between the two sides.  Whitman wrote about the war by idealizing the workmen and leaders.  He visited soldiers in hospitals and attended to their needs as he was a volunteer nurse during the Civil War.

Not knowing about the Wilmot Proviso prior to this, I feel that Whitman would have been a supporter.  In "Song of Myself" he writes about housing a slave and how illegal it is but he didn't care.