Wound-Dressers and House Calls: Medical Representations in Whitman and Williams

Robert Leigh Davis

doi:10.13008/2153-3695.1216

Essays

Wound-Dressers and House Calls: Medical Representations in Whitman and Williams

Abstract

Examines Whitman's attitudes toward wounded bodies and argues that "dressing a wound, and writing a poem about dressing a wound (are) equivalent acts in Whitman's imagination"; compares Whitman's emphasis on the "rescuing" function of poetry to William Carlos Williams' emphasis on "defamiliarization" of habits of perception of the body in Spring and All.

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How to Cite: Davis, R. L. (1989) “Wound-Dressers and House Calls: Medical Representations in Whitman and Williams”, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. 6(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.13008/2153-3695.1216