What made the American Romantic poets different from the American Romantic novelists and short story writers?

Though many
of the writers of the American Romantic literary movement agreed on various principles, some
tension existed between a few of the poets of the time and a few of the prose writers.

The transcendentalists of American Romanticism, represented by the poet Walt Whitman,
for example, focused on the subjective experience of the individual. Spiritual and emotional
concerns dominated Whitman's poetry, and he advocated for others to embrace transcendentalist
ideals so that everyone can come together as individuals.

Some of the writers
of novels and short stories at this time, like Herman Melville, objected to Whitman's emphasis
on the individual, deeming it far too self-indulgent. To writers like Melville, such
individualism can only lead to self-obsession, which is a destructive force, not a
community-building one.