"Be radical-be radical-be not too damned radical!": The Origins and Resonance of Whitman's Signature Expression

Kenneth M Price

doi:10.13008/2153-3695.1759

Notes

"Be radical-be radical-be not too damned radical!": The Origins and Resonance of Whitman's Signature Expression

Abstract

Examines Whitman's fondness for "putting forth two assertions followed by a negation cutting against the grain of emphasis" and tracks the source of this pattern to Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Qveene, then suggests the larger ramifications of what Whitman called "the not-too-damned sure spirit."

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How to Cite: Price, K. M. (2004) “"Be radical-be radical-be not too damned radical!": The Origins and Resonance of Whitman's Signature Expression”, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. 22(2/3). doi: https://doi.org/10.13008/2153-3695.1759