had a very close relationship. One poem that Whitman wrote was titled, Starting from Paumanok. The opening lines of this poem shows some of the admiration that Walt Whitman had for his mother. The death of his mother caused great pain for Whitman. This left him feeling extreme isolation and depression. “Declining in energy and feeling intense loneliness, Whitman was passing through the greatest depression of his life” (Walt Whitman, pg. 19). The poem that he wrote that revealed his depression was Prayers of Columbus.Despite the fact that Walt Whitman wrote about a variety of subjects, there are two main things that changed his writings. These two factors are the Civil War and the death of his mother. As a result of these two factors, the tone and mood in which he wrote changed. As a whole these two factors changed his writings completely.What motivated WaltWhitman to write? There are many things in Walt Whitman’s life which motivated him to write. With these motivations he developed a sense of determination. This as a whole helped him achieve overall success.Before any work, Whitman experimented with many different jobs. He was a teacher, an editor and a journeyman printer for several different newspapers. This is where his experience in writing and publishing began.The first piece of work that Whitman published was Leaves of Grass, in 1855. This first edition did not sell very well. As a result, Whitman made an attempt to change this. He sent numerous copies of his book to other well known poets. Among these poets was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Not long after that Whitman received a response from Emerson. This response back to him encouraged him tremendously. Although his first edition of Leaves of Grass did not sell very well, this did not discourage him. In fact, he was motivated by Emerson’s letter that sections from the letter were included in the second edition of Leaves of Grass. The spine...
