Performing Union: Walt Whitman, Participatory Democracy, and Antebellum Performance Culture

"This dissertation examines the antebellum editions of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (those published in 1855, 1856, and 1860) within the context of his indebtedness to antebellum performance culture, particularly as represented in the streets, in the theatres, and in the public halls that housed mesmeric sessions. Broadly stated, the project describes the relationship between American antebellum performance culture and Whitman's democratic poetics (Chapter One). It shows how Whitman employs performative strategies borrowed from theatre (Chapters Two and Three) and mesmerism (Chapters Four and Five) in order to achieve a radically intimate union with his readers. This project highlights the importance of the reader to Whitman's poetry by asking, first, whether and where Whitman's poetry owes any sort of debt to antebellum performance culture; second, how and why Whitman mobilizes performative language and strategies; and third, how---and how well---these strategies allow him to ""reach"" his readers (Epilogue). This dissertation thus contextualizes and illuminates the mechanics of Whitman's poetic performance, the primacy of the audience in his poetry, and the shape and substance of his democratic project."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Waitinas, Catherine M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chai, Leon

• Theater

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3223741

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87859