That's the opening stanza from Leaves of Grass, the Ur-text of American poetry. The opening stanza doesn't convey Whitman's break with convention fully, but it stands in for the rest, which does. And certainly these lines -- self-celebratory, all-encompassing, without conventional rhyme or meter -- convey an expression of independence!
Re:“I have let Whitman alone”
by whatshisface on Monday April 08, 2019 @10:51PM
(#19611325)
Shhhh, if you admit you don't see it the game is ruined. Instead you should build on it, like improv actors in a jam session.
I'm pretty sure that two sentences you quote don't form a meaningful pair, so I wouldn't expect the second sentence to explain the first.
The sentence "Whitman was unequivocally declaring his own independence from poetic conventions and niceties." relates to what Whitman was doing, i.e. to announcing himself as "American, one of the roughs" in an earlier sentence.
"... Every atom belongs as good to you" corresponds to the later phrase "Here was a poet of the people for the people". That's my reading anyway. The structure is ABAB: quote, quote, gloss, gloss.
This is why I always struggle communicating in the arts. This author speaks with such conviction that she understands Whitman's intent and yet I can't find a shred of it for myself.