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How did Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne shape American literature?

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John Smith: Map of Virginia — American literature Map of Virginia from John Smith's *The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles*, 1624.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman are central figures of the American Renaissance, a period during which American literature matured as an expression of a distinct national spirit.12

Nathaniel Hawthorne is celebrated for his mastery of allegory and symbolism, which he used to explore complex ethical problems and the human condition. By drawing on the Puritan tradition, he offered a profound, often somber, psychological insight into guilt and moral choice, establishing a durable tradition of the symbolic romance in American fiction.13

Herman Melville evolved from writing adventure-based fiction to creating richly symbolic and complex works like Moby Dick. His writing, which often grappled with the instability of identity and the deceptiveness of reality, is recognized for its deep philosophical inquiry and its ability to weave intense, visible facts into profound symbolic narratives.124

Walt Whitman revolutionized American poetry by championing the common man and Jacksonian democracy. Through Leaves of Grass, he introduced free verse and an unconventional, autobiographical style that celebrated the individual and the regenerative power of nature, ultimately becoming a foundational voice for American individualism.125