Skip to main content
Like
Create new Glog
previous
next
Email share
108 views | 0 likes | 0 reposts
Rhetorical Question: Whitman asks, “Have you reckoned a thousand acres much?” in order to show that he finds the natural world to be full of wonder. Personification: “The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering.” Blank Verse: Whitman’s entire poem is in free, or blank verse. Alliteration: “Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged”: Whitman repeats the “f” sound. Imagery: Whitman projects the image of a natural, blue-collar hero with the line, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.”
[Listen to excerpt]
Excerpt from "Song of Myself" Have you reckon'd a thousand acres much? have you reckon'd the earth much? Have you practis'd so long to learn to read? Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems? Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left,) You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self. The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering. I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. The last scud of day holds back for me, It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd wilds, It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk. I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun, I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags. I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles. You will hardly know who I am or what I mean, But I shall be good health to you nevertheless, And filter and fibre your blood. Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged, Missing me one place search another, I stop somewhere waiting for you.
Walt Whitman Glog
Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” is a lengthy poem that explains Whitman’s poetic vision for himself and for America. He takes the reader through 52 stanzas each of which contribute to Whitman’s idea of how American should be. The poem takes a lot from Transcendentalist values, specifically the love of nature and communion with the Oversoul. In this poem, Whitman outlines his idea of the blue-collar hero as an example American, and also show his wonder at the miracle of life. The poem ends with Whitman inviting us to share his vision with him and to live our lives as a form of “poetry.” The poem “Crossing Broklyn Ferry” shows Whitman’s fascination with life over time. His experience on the ferry leads him to wonder about his significance in the world, and the fact that he is just one person in an endless stream of people over time. Whitman thinks about the people who have come before him and the people who will come after him. He address the reader directly, as if he knew the reader would encounter his poem in his future, which is our present. The poem ends with Whitman telling readers to contribute their part to the story of the world told over time. Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain” was written immediately after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, and laments the dead president. He compares Lincoln to a captain of a ship, and wonders what the sailors will do without him. Whitman compares Americans to the lost sailors who will not know what to do without the captain. For Whitman, Lincoln was extremely important because he tried to keep the country unified, something the poet thought was extremely important.
Descriptions of Poems
Both are sons of New Jersey, both celebrate the working-class, both contribute to defining what it means to be American-- Whitman and Springsteen!
Read the full poem here!
Camerado, I give you my hand, I give you my love more precious than money, I give you myself before preaching or law; Will you give me yourself? - Walt Whitman
Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend, I want to guard your dreams and visions...together we could break this trap/ We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back/Will you walk with me out on the wire? - B. Springsteen
