Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson's works have numerous differences. Compared to Dickinson's short and seemingly simple poems, Whitman's are long and often complex. Yet both twentieth century writers share several similarities when delved into thoroughly. Though their approaches differ, they often deal with the same themes, and both pioneered their own unique style of writing.
Using death as a theme is probably the strongest connection that Whitman and Dickinson share. Whitman's view on death is reflective of his belief in Transcendentalism. In "Song of Myself", Whitman uses the scientific principle of Thermodynamics to assert that there is life after death, because energy cannot be destroyed; only transformed. In stanza six, he writes "And what do you think has become of the women and children?/ They are alive and well somewhere,/ The smallest sprouts shows there is really no death". Whitman contends that life remains long after death, and to find him now all one must do is look "under your boot-soles".
