Essay #4 Thesis -- Slang In America

Walt Whitman's essay on slang in the English language defends a position which few during the time of its writing adopted and which is increasingly under attack in modernity: that the development of slang and the popular vernacular is an integral part of the development and longevity of any language, and is the root of "fancy, imagination and humor". The essay is cunningly written and draws on powerful statements from experts in a variety of fields to support its position, but its archaic language may impede comprehension for 21st Century readers.