The fascinating and utterly amazing intertextuality between the astonishing Theodore Roethke and a major poet. Are you ready? Alright! Let’s dig in!
The main influences revealed in Roethke’s poetry take the shape of major 19th century Transcendentalists including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman. “The main theme in Transcendentalism is essentially broken down into the idea that individuality and self-reliance is a necessary means to survive in a disorderly society.” (Campbell). In simple terms, Transcendentalists believe the way to live a prudent life is to flee from the materialism of the world, and if you are like Henry David Thoreau, abandon society and move onto a lake in the middle of nowhere. Not that I have anything against them, but news flash Transcendentalists, there is probably not a single human being who can do just that. Find me anyone who is willing to give up Facebook (or any technological device) for a few years and instead observe nature, and I will humbly swallow my pride and walk away from the subject. Anyways, pardon my departure from the main topic at stake 
George Wolff writes in his book, Theodore Roethke, how the concept of individuality formed Roethke’s belief in the essentialness of somehow “escaping” from the conveniences of society.
“Like the Transcendentalists, Roethke saw that the growth of a true identity was jeopardized by the apparently unlimited proliferation of society’s institutions” (Wolff 21).
In his poem, “The Waking,” Roethke uses the repetition of the line, “I wake to sleep and take my waking slow,” and “i learn by going where i have to go” to convey the philosophy by which he lived his life. On a literal level, Roethke is saying he takes full advantage of every opportunity and lives everyday without regrets; however, underneath this, he also stresses the necessity to break away from the mold of society and become self-reliant. Similarly, Walt Whitman, who agreed with Ralph Waldo Emerson when he wrote in his essay entitle, Self Reliance, “Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water of which it is composed does not” (Ralph), also believed in order to gain true wisdom and knowledge, one must break free from the stronghold of society. Walt Whitman, a poet and philosopher who lived during the 19th century, bridged the gap between Transcendentalism and Realism by using vivid imagery to portray the world in which he lived. Specifically, in section 1 of the poem, “Song of Myself,” Whitman uses the first person narrative “I” to symbolize his belief that one must become self-reliant.
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.” (Whitman)
Not only here, but throughout the entirety of the poem, Whitman praises his earthly existence and emphasizes his happiness as an individual. Like Whitman, and Emerson for that matter, throughout much of his poetry Roethke takes into his own hands the meaning of self-reliance. He writes on the topic as if it is not an absolute necessity, but more of an acquired wisdom a person achieves throughout their lifetime.
The other idea embedded within Transcendentalism that strongly influenced Roethke is the physicality of nature as a living object, and the one person who captured this realism was, in fact, Walt Whitman. Throughout his book of poems, Leaves of Grass, Whitman lifts up nature as if it were a supreme being and praises it for its infinite beauty. Specifically, In his poem, “Song of Myself,” he uses strong imagery to symbolize nature as universal.
“I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.” (Whitman)
In this section, Whitman speaks of how even after his death, his spirit will always remain apart of the earth. Because he admires and respects the beauty of nature, he believes once his physical life is over, his soul will become similar to that of nature; infinite and universal. Similarly, throughout much of his poetry, Roethke describes nature in a way that allows the reader to attach to its beauty. For example, in his poem, “Elegy for Jane,” Roethke describes his extreme sorrow and grief by using images of nature; however underneath this sadness, he also uses nature to describe the beauty and vibrancy of his student when she was alive.
“A wren, happy, tail into the wind,
Her song trembling the twigs and small branches. The shade sang with her;
The leaves, their whispers turned to kissing,
And the mould sang in the bleached valleys under the rose.”
Overall, Emerson and Whitman acted as primary influences in Roethke’s life and poetry. While some might argue that T.S. Eliot played a more major role in his life, one must consider that Roethke repulsed his life philosophies. Therefore by the transitive property of geometry, the 19th Transcendentalists pull ahead into first place leaving Eliot to bite the dust! 
ciao for now
Works Cited
Blessing, Richard A. Theodore Roethke’s Dynamic Vision. Don Mills, Canada: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, 1974.
Campbell, Donna M. “American Transcendentalism.” Literary Movements. 21 March 2007. <http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/amtrans.htm>.
“Ralph Waldo Emerson.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. 24 Mar. 2009 <http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm>.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Barnes and Noble, 1993.
Wolff, George . Theodore Roethke. Twayne Publishers, 1981.
Here are the posts i posted throughout the project!
(note: a couple of blogs i attempted to post on, that were not in the realm of our class, would not allow me to post my comment, but here are the links to the sites Drake Hicks and Linda Sue Grimmes)
jessegr1
hey jess…did you know it was six feet long and carried by the servant? ahaha just kidding. just thought i’d add a little ‘creative’ humor to this project
anyways, after taking a look at the life of charles bukowski, i’m beginning to realize how many similarities Roethke and him have in their personal lives. First off, you said: “Bukowski was devastated after his first real love, Jane Cooney Baker, passed away” and “gave up and quit writing for almost ten years, and retrospectively calls his hiatus from writing a “ten-year-drunk.” Theodore Roethke was an avid writer of poetry (and maybe slightly more prosperous than Bukowski right off the bat); however he experienced extreme mood swings and terrible love affairs (similar to Bukowski) that left him hopeless, devastated, and disappointed. Because Roethke had an abusive childhood, his anger and frustration with his father effected the way he lived his life as an adult. So maybe our poets have something in common here? I guess i’ll have to take a closer look.
katieegr1
well hello there katie
i was taking a look at your poet, Robert Hayden, and i realized just how much he has in common with my poet, Theodore Roethke. Growing up, Roethke lived a similar childhood in which his alcoholic father severely abused him and his mother did nothing to stop him in fear he would do the same to her. You quoted Rampersad when he said: “Hayden was a man subjected virtually from the start of his life to harsh personal pressures that might easily have silenced someone less courageous.” This directly relates to Roethke’s life. As a young child, Roethke was forced to take care of himself and live a life of independence because his parents were inept in doing so. Because of this, his poetry reflects his personal experiences and life lessons he learned since he was a small boy. Now that i think about it, Hayden and Roethke have very similar lives. I guess i might just have to take a further look into this…
skyeegr1
skye,
after reading your post, I realized that our poets have a lot more in common than i though! Your poet, Robert Graves, was influenced by T.S. Eliot, just like mine, Theodore Roethke. Even thought, I didn’t do my post on Eliot, when I was researching I saw that he actually influenced Roethke quite a bit!
In your post, you said: “Not only are Eliot and Graves similar in their poetry but also in one specific belief of theirs. They both felt a rejection towards the present world, feeling that it was becoming too industrialized, nontraditional, and even corrupted.” In his poem, “The Waking,” Roethke uses the repetition of certain lines to convey this philosophy. On a literal level, Roethke is saying he takes full advantage of every opportunity and lives everyday without regrets; however, underneath this, he also stresses the necessity to break away from the mold of society.
Anyways, as you can see, Graves and Roethke have quite the same belief system represented throughout much of their poetry. There’s some quality intertextuality for you to enjoy!
laurenegr1
lauren,
So, after reading your post, I realized that our poets have a lot more in common than i thought, in the fact that Langston Hughes was also influenced by Walt Whitman, just like mine, Theodore Roethke.
In your post, you said: “It is easy to see Whitman’s elaborate language and descriptions of nature around him as an influence on Hughes’ work, because the latter often wrote about the same types of things.” In his poem, “Elegy for Jane,” Roethke describes his extreme sorrow and grief of the death of his student by using images of nature; however underneath this sadness, he also uses nature to describe the beauty and vibrancy of his student when she was alive.
As you can see, the value Whitman placed on nature and life is apparent in both the work of Hughes and Roethke. And this is just to say, but i, too, worked with the Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes during the fall research paper, and many of the ideas you posted are similar to the ones that i wrote about. Great work!