What made Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson part of the Romantic movement?The movement, or Romantic period, was from the year 1828 to about 1865. The main characteristic of the American Romantic period was the celebration and praise of individualism. This period is also considered the first period of genuine American creativity. Emotion, instead of reason, became the greatest source of inspiration and creativity during this period. This was all a reaction to all the constraints placed on people during the era of realism. At this time in history, America was in a great period of expansion, the writers of the American Romantic period were discovering that they could create a new and very different voice for this new era in time. This new era in time allowed for individual creativity and personal growth. Furthermore, this newfound freedom has enabled many new female writers and readers for the first time on a large scale. This new sense of independence was largely due to the fact that this was the first time America had truly completely separated itself from Great Britain. The two most important writers of the period are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Walt Whitman lived from 1819 to 1892, during his time as an author; he was able to create some of the most influential literary works in American history. Walt Whitman is closely linked to the American Romantic movement in that he uses nature in many of his works. He believed that nature was the source of all that was beautiful in the world. Whitman also believed that the natural world had power over itself and everyone else. A great example of this would be from Walt Whitman's poem “When the lilacs last in the yard bloomed” when he says, “O power… to the center of the paper… the th of these the writers wrote of and was still very important to them. Although the writings of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman seem very different, they tend to share some common themes. Their opinions differ, however, both write about ordinary people and everyday events. Both of these writers are lauded American writers who played an extremely important role in an extremely important period in American history. ReferencesDickinson, Emily. “Because I couldn't stop in front of Death.” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177119. Retrieved December 20, 2013. Whitman, Walt. "When the lilacs bloomed last in the yard." http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174748. Retrieved December 21, 2013. Werner, Marta L. "Three American Poets: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville." Leviathan 14.2 (2012): 81-7. ProQuest. Network. December 20. 2013.