WWQR > Vol. 2 (1984) > No. 2
Abstract
Provides an explanation for Whitman's use of sequences of dots to break up lines internally in the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass by arguing that Whitman was using a standard convention of nineteenth-century oratory-the Rhetorical Pause-and goes on to integrate this insight with a substantial reading of the first edition emphasizing the poem's radical effort to present the poet engaged in an oratorical performance; uses ideas from nineteenth-century oraticians including Samuel Kirkland and Dr. James Rush, as well as contemporary language theorists including Derrida.
Rights
Copyright © 1984 by The University of Iowa.
Recommended Citation
Available at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/wwqr/vol2/iss2/2
Season
Fall