閱讀理解

　　Whitman was one of the most original and inspiring American poets, well known for his art and his role as a poet．He devoted himself to poetry praising the native American experience．As America’s first epic poem, Leaves of Grass ran nine editions with more than 400 poems all written in free forms, that is, poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme．The tide implies rebirth, renewal, or green life．As Whitman once said, “Leaves of Grass was the outcropping of my own emotional and other personal nature - an attempt, from first to last, to put a person, a human being freely, fully and truly on record．”

　　For Whitman, science, democracy(民主)and spirituality(靈性)were the three things that underlay the structure of modern poetry．Whitman tried to combine the world of science, the democracy and the spiritual feeling of life into one, into his poetry．For Whitman, the poetic form should be free．Therefore, he threw aside the traditional form and had his own form．Both the form and content of his poems are revolutionary．With its frequent use of oral language and everyday events, his poem represented a turning point in the history of American poetry - poetry fashioned out of specially American experience in a clearly American idiom．Whitman’s unique poetic creation has developed a very significant tradition in American poetry．

　　In his poems, he celebrated new America rather than regretted it．He was against slavery, idolized(崇拜的)Lincoln, supported strikes, and combined the ideal of the common people and that of the ragged individual．

閱讀理解

　　Whitman was one of the most original and inspiring American poets, well known for his art and his role as a poet．He devoted himself to poetry praising the native American experience．As America’s first epic poem, Leaves of Grass ran nine editions with more than 400 poems all written in free forms, that is, poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme．The tide implies rebirth, renewal, or green life．As Whitman once said, “Leaves of Grass was the outcropping of my own emotional and other personal nature - an attempt, from first to last, to put a person, a human being freely, fully and truly on record．”

　　For Whitman, science, democracy(民主)and spirituality(靈性)were the three things that underlay the structure of modern poetry．Whitman tried to combine the world of science, the democracy and the spiritual feeling of life into one, into his poetry．For Whitman, he poetic form should be free．Therefore, he threw aside the traditional form and had his own form．Both the form and content of his poems are revolutionary．With its frequent use of oral language and everyday events, his poem represented a turning point in the history of American poetry - poetry fashioned out of specially American experience in a clearly American idiom．Whitman’s unique poetic creation has developed a very significant tradition in American poetry．

　　In his poems, he celebrated new America rather than regretted it．He was against slavery, idolized(崇拜的)Lincoln, supported strikes, and combined the ideal of the common people and that of the ragged individual．