A place for humility: Whitman, Dickinson, and the natural world

Part I Noticing Small Worlds --

1 "Turns unperceived beneath -- our Feet" : Dickinson's frequent acts of noticing small nature --

2 "What is the Grass?" : Whitman's originating moment of noticing small nature --

Part II Describing local lands --

3 "The Acre gives them -- Place -- / They -- Him -- Attention" Dickinson's sparse description --

4 "With angry moans the fierce old mother incessantly moaning" : Whitman's narrative description --

Part III Narrating the regions --

5 "A Field of Stubble, lying sere" : Dickinson's reluctant New England narratives --

6 "Clearing the ground for broad humanity" : Whitman's affirmative regional narratives --

Part IV Envisioning the earth --

7 "The Earth and I and One" : Dickinson's vision of global dwelling --

8 "What is this earth to our affections?" : Whitman's vision of cosmic companionship.