Bertrand, Whitman and Dickinson

In Emily Dickinson's "Hope is a Thing with Feathers" and Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself: Meditation Two", there is a similarity in their thoughts on life. They both use the natural world to come to realizations about their lives. In Whitman's meditation two, he alludes perfumes in a home to the variety of people there are in the world. He comes to the conclusion that through the diversity of the natural world, one can also see the diversity of human beings. He then makes the allusion that although human beings are all different and equally beautiful, they breath the same "distilled air" that nature emanates. In Dickinson's poem, she uses nature to illustrate the presence of hope in the world. Through the depiction of a sparrow she illustrates how hope exists even in the darkest of places. Most of Dickinson's poems are commentaries on death an focuses on the loss that exists in human life. For Dickinson, the image of nature represents the existence of hope. This is an overriding theme in most of her poetry; humans are depicted with death, while the natural world is used to allude love and life.

Despite these similarities of their views on the natural world, they are opposite when on their views as people and society. Dickinson's sees strife, turmoil, and death in human society. Whitman views it as a house full of many good smelling perfumes. Dickinson views people as subject to the hardships they imposes upon each other. While Whitman views it people as full of the potential; humans are the reflection of the diversity of the natural world.

Despite their difference in views of society and of the human race in general, they believe in the potential of the human race, which can be viewed in nature.