Representing the Kosmos: The Lyric Turn in Whitman's "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"

Type of Work

Article

Date

Winter 1995

Journal Title

Walt Whitman Quarterly Review

Journal ISSN

2153-3695

Journal Volume

12

Journal Issue

3

First Page

150

Last Page

169

DOI

10.13008/2153-3695.1448

Abstract

Explores "the changing status of the major modes" of literature--here narrative and lyric--in the context of Whitman's oeuvre, focusing especially on "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life" and defending the lyric against contemporary, pro-narrative arguments that see lyric modes as solipsistic; argues that "lyric reminds us where freedom may be found and why it matters."

Hamilton Areas of Study

Literature and Creative Writing

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