As a result, each line would be quite long and one sentence can go on for several lines in "Song of Myself" and the others:.
"My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs,/.the song of me rising from beed and meeting the sun" (23-32).
The use of poetic language differs between the two poets as well. Much like the structure of his works, Bryant's language is reminiscent of an older English vernacular. Archaic English is used throughout many of his works, for example, "A Forest Hymn":.
"Father, thy hand/ Hath reared these venerable columns, thou/ Didst weave this verdant roof./ Thou didst look down/ Upon the naked earth, and, forthwith, rose/ All these fair ranks of trees" (23-27).
The use of old English words such as thy, hath, though and didst give Bryant's poems a less modern feel that resembles classic English poetry.
Whitman's language is considerably more complex than Bryant's. His long sentences tend to be wordy with superfluous vocabulary. In addition to this, he tends to expand upon sentences with repetitions that extend the lines further:.
"You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,/ .You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self" (34-37).
The language that Whitman uses is elevated; his poems do not read as if he is speaking directly to the average person but to peers, who he considers on the same level as himself and therefore more capable of understanding him. Bryant's language tends to be straightforward and clearer and is therefore more easily understood by the masses, while Whitman's is roundabout and has almost arrogant undertones. The theme that Bryant returns to many times in his work is of a transcendentalist nature. This concept is expressed particularly well in the poem "Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood.
