Visual vs. Written Word

Visual vs. Written Word
While different forms of art, Walt Whitman’s poems and Photography are astoundingly similar. To be successful in both poetry and photography, one must be creative and approach subject matter from different perspectives in order to craft a unique and engaging portfolio. Whitman’s descriptive language and vivid imagery, exploration of taboo subject matter, and disregard for traditional rhyme patterns correlates with the evocative, experimental, and innovative aspects of photography that are essential to the perfection of the art.
The detail and imagery in Whitman’s poems are evocative and bring about strong responses similar in extent to those of successful photographs.  In Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself,” his use of descriptive verbs paint pictures in the minds of his readers and make his illustrations more tangible. Instead of stating that the speaker saw a bloody body on the floor, he writes, “the suicide sprawls on the bloody floor of the bedroom/I witness the corpse with its dabbled hair.” Whitman’s graphic description makes the scene more powerful and lifelike to the reader. The reader is left feeling disturbed and horrified by the scene. Similarly, Steve McCurry, a world-famous photographer, is an example of an artist who captures extraordinarily compelling portraits that tap into the emotional realm of his viewers. In particular, McCurry’s effectively captures the immense emotion of his subjects in his portraits of Middle Eastern women. The moment one glance into the eyes of some of these women their true emotions are revealed; one can feel their pain, happiness, hopelessness or love etc simply by looking into their eyes. The photograph in some way affects the viewer. In addition, the insanely high quality and detail in McCurry's photos make the photo feel lifelike in the same way Whitman’s vivid imagery does. The emotional effect of Whitman’s writing and Photography are analogous.
Similarly, Whitman’s curiosity and exploration of taboo subject matter is similar to the different approaches and perspectives photographers take towards subject matter. In “Song of Myself,” Whitman explores sexual desires such as masturbation. In Section 28 Whitman describes the experience of masturbating. He writes “I went myself first to the headland, my own hands carried me there” ("Song of Myself"Canto 28). Likewise, in his poem “I Sing the Body Electric,” he states quite vulgarly, “Limitless limpid jets of love hot and enormous, quivering jelly of love, white-blow and/delirious juice” (I Sing the Body Electric, Section 5). His discussion of a widely unnerving but humanely actions shocked the rather conservative society of 1855. He received harsh criticism for his unconventional writing and as Dickinson quoted, “You speak of Mr. Whitman. I never read his book, but was told that it was disgraceful.” Nevertheless, he successfully investigated unspoken and original topics. Originality in subject matter and perspective are crucial parts of Photography. While photographs of beaches, trees, and sunsets can be beautiful photos, they are generic and cliché in content. Perspective also has a large effect on the outcome of ones photos. The entire look of an object and the overall photograph can change depending on the orientation of the object in relation to the lens of the camera and the photographer’s eye. Photography is experimental. A photograph becomes interesting when a photographer plays around with perspective and investigates different themes for her photos. Whitman’s writing and photographers compare because they both attempt to explore new angles, points of view, and subject matter that previously have not been considered.
Walt Whitman’s inattention to traditional rhyme scheme patterns and meter makes his work unique from previous writing as many photographers use methods to take photos that go against the conventional process. In “Song of Myself,” Whitman writes in free verse, writing long lines about a variety of subject matter. He ignores the conventional way that Americans in the 1800’s wrote poems based on structured British Poetry. Comparably, Photographers often go against the mainstream ways of taking photographs because photography is based on technology that frequently evolves and advances.  High-speed photography is where strobe lights are used with ultra high shutter speeds to freeze a subject in up to 1/160,000 of a second as opposed to the standard 1/125 of a second.  The results are incredible as the camera captures instantaneous actions like the popping of a balloon. In the end, while Whitman was criticized in his time period for straying from structure, he is now honored as the father of free versus. His different writing style as well as the different approaches artists take towards their work are important because the individuality is what makes them unique and successful.
The overall reactions to Whitman’s unique writing are strong and comparable with the emotional responses a successful photographer will make one feel about his photos. Photography and writing are subjective. A photograph’s value is based on its viewer’s interpretation of it and quality writing is defined by the reader. As a result, photographers try to engage their viewers in their photography by being creative with angles, perspectives, and subjects. Likewise, Whitman approached writing in a more imaginative and innovative way by using free verse and vivid imagery. While some may criticize his work, the idiosyncrasies in his writing are what make him an effective and revered writer in modern culture.