modes of writing would influence drama and poetry alike thereafter and would be seen clearly in Shakespeare's work.
Walt Whitman expanded the style of poetry with a free verse form that was florid and emotional. He also promoted a truly American idiom and worked to show writers and readers that it was not necessary to imitate English or European models. This had been a theme in American literature for some time, but it usually applied to American subjects and not to language itself. Whitman promoted an American language and believed that within a short time Americans would be the preeminent English speakers in the world, expressing themselves in a unique fashion.
Mark Twain popularized and made an art form out of dialect. There were other dialect writers, but Twain was a master at using the right phrase and at presenting dialect the way it was spoken. He was the most important of the regional writers of his time and contributed greatly to the development of the sort of American idiom sought by Whitman, and he was very influential on fiction writers who followed.
2. We all use different levels of usage depending on the circumstances in which we find ourselves--the reason for our speech, the person to whom we are speaking, and the effect we want to have on that person. The way we use language places us in a certain social class, and in the hierarchy of a company the type of language we use in communicating with others within that company will identify our place in the hierarchy. In daily speech, we speak differently to our family and friends than we would in class, differently again if we were seeking a job, and differently from that if called upon to make a speech to an organization. We do not speak as formally as we write as a rule unless there is a special occasion for doing so.
In business, our language is more formal than it would be if speaking to friends, and we may change our level of usage according to whom we...