Whitman wanted to bolster the American democratic spirit by creating a democratic literature through his Leaves of Grass he also wanted to create something epic so he crafted a new form the lyric-epic Pablo Neruda wrote Canto general as a foundational text for communism in Latin America In both books these poets want to politicize the reader Whitman for democracy and Neruda for communism both of which have become foundational poets for their coun...