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8/10/2019 Rom. Poetry Whitman Dickinson
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The Romantic Poetry: Walt Whitmanand Emily Dickinson
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12 poems (1stedition)1855
9 EDITIONS
over 400 poems(9th edition)
1892
Leaves of Grass
A collection of poems whichhe would continue editing andrevising until his death.
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Special features. Form (2)(2) Form: most of his poems seem unplanned,
disorganized. Included: apostrophes, rhetoricalquestions, exclamations, etc. Use of FREE VERSEverse composed ofvariable, usually, unrhymed lines having no fixed
metrical pattern. The verse WITHOUTregular meterline lengthrhymestanza form
Poets who write in free verse try to reproduce
the natural rhythms of spoken language.
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Common Elements of Free VerseFree-verse poets often use the following
poetic elements: Alliteration Assonance
Parallel structurethe repetition of thesame or similar words, phrases, clauses, orsentences: born here of parents born herefrom parents
Onomatopoeiathe use of words whosesounds echo their meaning (such as buzz orbang), imitating the sound associated withobjects or action they refer to.
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Special features
Language: broke with conventions of style.
Included aspects considered anti-poetic:slang, vulgar speech,
powerful
colourfulused words of foreign origins orcreate new ones
Use of enumerations and catalogs:catalog: a list in things in parallelism
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Song of Myself
Song of Myself, consisting of 1346 lines divided
into 52 sections, is the longest poem in Leaves ofGrass.
The poet takes for granted the selfas the most
crucial element of the world and thus sets forthtwo of his principal beliefs:
a theory of universality,which is illustrated by long
catalogs of people and
things
the belief in the singularityand equality of all beings in
value
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Published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass.
The poem presents Whitmansvision of the democratic ideal,witheach citizen contributing to the welfare of
America. No matter the occupation, each person contributes to the
nations varied carols,showing the joy with which individuals
create what Whitman envisions as the perfect nation.He admired
the average person, and was more likely to write about jobs that
involved physical work.
STRUCTURE: The poem starts with two lines that open up about
the overall meaning of the poem. Whitman continues the poem
with a repetition of a formula- (individual) is singing his/as etc. Thenthe last three lines bring back the poem full circle to meet with the
first two lines.
Although the poem features no end rhyme, a sense of melody is
evident from the use of repetition and line length.
I HEAR AMERICA SINGING
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Personification
Line one presents the poem's major metaphor: individual
Americans doing their various jobs with different professions are a
harmonious chorus of happy, proud, creative workers; as if theyare all participating, orchestra-like, in a great symphony of
democracy.
Catalog: The speaker hears the "singing" of mechanics, a
carpenter, a mason and other workers Whitman covers the
whole nation, from city to country, from the sea to the land All
these people contribute to the life and culture of America.
The verbs he uses indicate action Verbs such as measures,
makes, sewing, and washing invoke moving pictures of people
performing their different jobs. Note that all the jobs described byWhitman require physical effort. He even includes female voices,
specifically a mother who performs her duties singing , the
young wife or the girleach singing what belongs none
else: each person is unique and has his/her own song.
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After referring to work, the group of men gather to enjoy each
others company and continue singing. Friendship is essential.
WORD REPETITION:
The word "carol" evokes the holy music associated with Christmas.It serves to quickly establish the blessed nature of the work
performed by these men and women.
Within the poem's 11 lines, the word "singing" appears 11 times (12
with the title). The word is employed figuratively to reflect the joy
and pride the various tradesmen and women take in their labor.
The article "The" begins seven of the 11 lines, which establishes a
pattern that can be heard when the poem is spoken.
Lines 4 and 5 achieve a pleasing melody through alliteration,
specifically the "ms" and the "b" of boatmanThe assonanceof ing sound in the repetition of singing, sewing
and washing
The phrase "I hear" is repeated twice in the first line, emphasizing
both the speaker's active engagement with the harmony and the
loud nature of the sounds.
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Parallel StructureIn lines 2-8 are the best examples of Parallel
Structure. Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be
blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he the mason
singing his etc
Tone: positive, hopeful, optimistic, accepting, celebratory, patriotic
Purpose: celebrates America s potential or ability to form a unitedbody who happily fulfill their purpose. The "song of America"
represents the joy of being free. All the different people, of different
trades, sing a part of the song. They become a chorus, harmonizing
to make a beautiful melody.
Theme: the poem celebrates the individuals who make America.
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On the Beach at night alone (1856)IT is a meditative poem, like a confession. When on the beach at night the speaker hears the
voice of the old mother (l.2), that is, the sea, swaying her waters to and fro.The
breaking of the waves on the shore sounded like a husky song. Everything is born in the
old mother: peoples, animals, plants. The speakers feelings are induced by the powerful
and mysterious presence of nature, of the sea, of the sky which surround him. While
contemplating the night, he meditates upon the universe and becomes aware of the
harmony that binds together all the elements of the universe.
The main idea of the poem, its message, is repeated twice at the beginning and in the end:
A vast similitude interlocks all (l.4), and the poet enumerates many elements both cosmicand earthly, material and spiritual that form the universe: All spheres, grown, ungrown,
small (l.5).
He hints that solitude and closeness to natureare a way to get in touch with onesintuition;
alone in nature the speaker finds meaning and truth. In the poem, he states how he is on
the beach at night alone, and looking into the stars caused him to deeply ponder the
universe. The knowledge gained from standing alone in nature with nothing but an openmind and perfect solitude was an characteristic of the Transcendentalist movement.
All things, places, and people have similitude (sameness, a resemblance to others of the
species), and ever have had and will continue to have. It is this interlocking of all things
equalitywhich the poet visualizes for the future of America.
Whitman has a vision of man and universe as one, and hebelieves that some transcendental
force joins all of existence.
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Repetition: The word "All... start eight lines,
and it is used 11 times in the poem.
Parallel structure
Both show interconnection between
all elements of life- even non living ones.
Imagery:"...husky song" (l.2); "spheres, grown,
ungrown, small, large" (l.7)
Personification: "As the old mother sways her to and fro singing her
husky song" (l.2-3). This shows that he agrees with Emerson andThoreau about the importance of Nature. Everything is connected in
nature: spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets
(l.5) and "All nations, colors, barbarisms, civilizations languages."
(l.10)
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The poem that consists of eight lines arranged in a
loose, sonnet-like structure. The first four lines recount a lecture by an
astronomer. Gradually growing in length, the lines accumulate a
confusing enumeration of facts, figures, and diagrams and note the
applause the astronomer receives. But the speaker doesnt applaud.
The poet goes out to experience the stars first hand, and we witness a
moment of awe before the mystery of nature presented with full
force. After the expanding lines that describe the lecture, these finallines become shorter and end in silence. Whitmans speaker does not
tell us what he is feeling; he simply presents the important moment
hes experiencing.
The poem seems to follow Emersons recommendation that we mustfind our own original relation to the universe.
There is a negative view of science presented in the poem: It is not
through abstract reasoning that we find meaning and satisfaction in
the universe but through a direct, personal, intuitive, emotional
encounter.
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Full of like lecture-room (l.4)-night-air (l.7), much
applause (l.4) -perfect silence (l.8) , sitting (l.4)-rising and gliding
(l.6).
In the first 4 lines: Nature is order, rationality The scientificapproach to nature is dull and dry, and only when the speaker leaves
the classroom the stars mean something important.
The last 4 lines: Nature is mysterious and emotionally powerful, aplace to connect spiritually and emotionally with God: in the
mystical night airlookdup in perfect silence at the stars (l. 7,8).
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: The title is repeated to create the idea that the speaker
is listening to an educated scientist.
When is used to begin 4 out of 8 lines (an example of ).
When everything in the first four lines has happened, then thespeaker describes the result. Notice that the first four lines become
increasingly longer, and the repetition of when gives the reader a
sense of imprisonment.
Notice also the speaker is sitting (passivity; making it seem
heavy) when compared to rising and gliding(l.6). The
repetition of lectured (l.4) and lecture-room (l.4), that is,
away from nature, increases the claustrophobic feeling.
:
Whitman lists the tools that the astronomer uses to teach theclass about stars: proofs, figures, columns, charts, diagrams, adding,
dividing, measuring All these words emphasize the logical process
of science and mathematics, and overwhelm the reader. The
astronomer is having the class look at the stars in a complex way,when, according to Whitman, it should be simple.
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(learnd (title and l.1), wanderd (l.6), lookd
(l.8) as well as
: "perfect silence...; "mystical moist night-air, "ranged in
columns before me...
The poems is important because it helps to contrast indoors
with outdoors.
in diction and syntax, which signals a shift in tone
when the speaker wanders out, that is, the tone of the first 4 lines is
different from the tone of the last 4 lines. There is a change in thespeakersattitude: from annoyed to peaceful, from disgust, boredom
and frustration to reverence and mystery. The last 3 lines show how
nature should be viewed. In line 6 he uses rising and gliding,
suggesting the behavior of stars, and making it seem as if the speakeris flying out into the sky, interacting with space. The language
becomes more musical with of the letters m, s, and t.
Words like rising and gliding/mystical/perfect silence (l.7-8)
indicate a peaceful tone, and represent the night as MAGICAL AND
BEAUTIFUL.
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Beat! Beat!Drums! is one of the few poems Whitman wrote
in more traditional verse form. It consists of three stanzas of
seven lineseach; each stanza beginning with the same first line
and closing with a line that echoes the closing line of the
previous stanza. The poem also uses the and
common in Whitmans poetry and uses free verse
elements as well, employing an irregular line length.
The poem is an to an imagined parade of martial
drums marching through Americas cities and countryside,rousing the people to war, asking them to leave their everyday
tasks and join the effort, to scatter their congregations, to
interrupt scholars at their schools, farmers plowing their fields,
bridegrooms on their honeymoons
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The first two stanzas present the CALL TO ARMS. The drums and
bugles represent the call to battle, which burst through the
windows and doors like a ruthless force (l.2). The marching beat
is heard also in churches and schools and in the home of thebridegroom quietno happiness must he have now with his
bride(l.5). It is loud enough to be heard over the traffic of cities
over the rumble of wheels in the streets (l.9). No regular business is
carried on, no brokers or speculators (l.11) are at work, everyday
activities are at a standstill. Even the lawyer hesitates to take hiscase to court. The second stanza ends: Then rattle quicker, heavier
drumsyou bugles wilder blow (l.14)
Beat! Beat! Drums! is a rallying poem, written as the war
began, when Whitman felt that, although it would be tragic, warwas the inevitable course of action necessary to save the union from
breaking apart. Later he would see the real war on the battlefields
and write poems that that seek to reveal the true horrors.
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The poem isboth an invitation to arms and a sorrowfulcomment on the impact of war, the drums and bugles a
for the canons and rifles drowning out all other
noises, even the shouts of men running or wounded. Theline, Beat! beat! drums!blow! bugles! blow!, is
both an evocation of the drums and bugles and an aid in
establishing the poems rhythm.
Whitman calls on the drums and bugles to do their duty,
which is to call the soldiers to battle and drown out all
everyday noises that might distract them from their duty.
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is used throughout the poem. Ex:
"Beat! Beat! Drums!" as well as "...bugle blow"
used at the end of every stanza.Other
repetitions:"through" (l.2), "Into the" (l.3, 4),
Mind not" (l.17, 18) these repetitions add to that rigid marching-
band sense of the poem.
: The drums and bugles are symbols for the calls to arms and
the common cause during a time of war. The drums represent thecivil war, due to the aggressive sound of the drum itself, as well as its
similarity to the sound of gunshots and explosions...
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: Words sounding like what they
describe, like "beat, "rattle," and "thump" (Lines 1,
14, 21) allow us to really hear the way the musicmight sound if we were there.
: One example is the line Over the traffic of citiesover the
rumble of wheels in the streets (l.9). Whitman uses this image to
give the reader a mental image of a sound that can be heard
everywhere by everyone.: The overall tone of the poem gives the reader a sense of
urgency for war. Whitman also brings a tone of patriotism through
the first line of every stanza.
: It is a poem that supports action and it is a call toarms in the face of a bitter truth: there is a war and it affectseveryone.
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In contrast to Walt Whitman, who declared himself thepoet of the American people and claimed apublicrole,
Dickinson remained a poet of privateexperience, publishing only a
few poems in her lifetime.
Emily Dickinson never approved of publishing her poems andrequested her sister to destroy all of her poems.
Before her death, only seven poems were published. But after her
death in 1886, her sister found that she left about 1800.
The poems are short, many of them being basedona single image or symbol.
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Her style is distinguished by her CONCISENESS, its simplicity;
nothing is emphasized but itsdifficult to understand.
MINIATURIST: most of her poems have fewer than 30 lines & deal
with profound themes:
Her poems have NO TITLES: the first line of each poem is always
quoted as the title of each poem.
UnusualCAPITALIZATION to personify the word, to create
emphasis, and to establish a parallel betwen words/ideas.
Unusual use of PUNCTUATION. Abundant use of dashes for the
division of sentences instead of commas, colons With the dash she
invites the reader to pause and consider what has been read before.
Language: brief, direct, plain. Highly concentrated and intensely
charged with feeling. Direct words, simple syntax BUT ambiguity of
meaning and syntax.
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describes her literary career. Only seven
poems were published in her lifetime, and
those were all greatly changed by editors whodidnt always understand Dickinsons
unconventional poetic style. She may have been frustrated by the
poor reception that her work received from her contemporaries, but
she also seemed to recognize that true artist is often misunderstood
in its own time. As the poem indicates, she kept writing her poetry
with the hope that some day its proper audience would discover it.
: Composed of two four-line stanzas, or quatrains, 8 lines
in total. Typical of her style, she incorporated dashes in the poemthat break up the flow of the lines and lend prominence to certain
words.
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The poem exemplifies the introspective themes of Dickinsons work
in this case, artistic creativity. She revealed her insecurity about
giving the product of her creative energies to the world, the idea of
giving the Message of her works to Hands *she+ cannot see. In thelast line, Judge tenderlyof Me, she summarised (in a half
apologetic manner) the anxiety of probably every artist or writer can
feel about the reception of his artistic production.
Examples of literary elements in the poem are:
: loneliness; she is isolated and the world doesn't reach out
to her. : This poem is an example of her needs for the world to
listen to her.
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I heard a Fly buzz & Because I could not stop for Death:
E. Dickinson wrote a lot of poems exploring the theme of deathbecause Death and the problem of life after death obsessedher.
Death reveals the ultimate reality and makes clear the nature of Godand the state of the soul.
I heard a Fly buzzwhen I died focuses on the sceneof the deathbed in which the speaker attempts to experience death
and tries to explore what follows death. The death theme of thepoem is presented in a unique wayand the image of a fly in this
solemn death scene is especially striking.
The poem strikingly describes the mental distraction posed by
irrelevant details at even the most crucial momentseven at themoment of death. The poem then becomes even stranger and more
macabre by transforming the tiny, normally disregarded fly into the
figure of death itself.
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: the poem consists of 16 lines divided into 4 stanzas.
& The Stillness in the room/Was like the stillness
in the Air
: the blending together of sensory impressions that cant,in reality, be combined. Example: blue uncertain stumbling buzz a
blending of the senses of sight (blue) and sound (buzz).
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: I heard a fly buzzwhen I died
: "breaths were gathering firm"plays a central part in the poem explaining aspects of
death and dying through the symbols of silence and the fly
: for the last onsetwhen the king Be witnessed
: Calm, Accepting, Relaxed. Death is unavoidable; Death can beviewed as peaceful and a relief; it is as if the speaker knows that
death will come eventually and is very calm about it.
: the interposition of the trivial at that sublime moment of
dying.
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The fly is the most important image in the poem; it makes its
appearance in the very beginning and dominates the last stanza.
Viewed as a whole, the fly and its buzzing appear in three of the
total four stanzas of the poem.
In the first line, the juxtaposition of a fly with an extremely solemn
moment of human lifewhen I diedgives a great shock. One
cannot help asking how the speaker can pay her attention to such anunimportant thing as the buzzing of a fly on an occasion of religious
importance.
Then, with the speakersdescription of the deathbed scene from line
two to the middle of line eleven, the uneasiness of mind caused by
the fly are almost forgotten when suddenly it is back again in the last
line of the third stanza: the fly reappears in the most critical moment
when everyone, including the dying speaker, is looking forward to
the possible sign of an afterlife.
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Since God never appears, a dramatic fall shatters everyones
expectation. The fact that a common animal, a fly and not the arrivalof the King (God) takes over the final moment of the speakers
life, brings about the climax of the poem. It highlights the deep
irony.
That central image of the fly could most likely be connected with
death, decay and corruption as they feed on corpses. In one sense,
this may be just a reminder of the ugly reality of death. For others
the fly symbolizes the world that is left behind. It is the only
indication of vitality in the poem.
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The poem is a dramatic representation of the passage from this
world of the living to the afterlife. This event is expressed in aformal but friendly drive in a carriage in the country of a gentleman
and his lady. The gentleman is Death himself; the speaker of the
poem is looking back upon how life had been before he came.
Death is personified as a polite and considerate gentleman who
takes her in a carriage for a romantic journey; however at the end of
the poem she finishes her trip`realizing that she died many years
ago.
This poem is a good example of her style, with punctuation
dominated by dashes and words intermittently given initial capital
letters.
The poem itself is built upon six quatrains of four lines each.
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The house is a METAPHORfor the grave; this shows the
speaker accepts and is comfortable with dying; Dying
becomes a journey with death toward eternity.
:--Deathis personified and leads the speaker to eternity: --
The Dews grew quivering and chill
The whole poem contains to
create the scene of the speaker traveling
with death to the grave
: The third stanza is a
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: The third stanza is a
symbolic recapitulation of life: (1) youth
(the children playing); (2) maturity (the
ripening grain); and (3) old age (thesetting sun).
: The contrast between the fear of death, usually
personified as horrible, and the kindness and
consideration of death as presented in the poem.
: relaxed and accepting. Death seems a good thing
and she doesnt fear it.Kindly (l.2) and civility (l.8)
give the reader the impression that death is the speakers
friend. It is also solemn. It is a serious subject but part of
life. At the end the tone is dark. The whole poem is an
extended metaphor for the journey to the afterlife.
Theme: Death is not to be feared
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Theme: Death is not to be feared.
One must learn to accept death, as it may
not be avoided
Metaphor: Dying becomes a drive with
Death toward eternity.
How does the speaker feel about death?Shebelieves that death will eventually come,
becoming accepting. She knows that deathcannot be avoided, and the journey to death
is long. Life is in essence a slow journey to
death, as events take place every day.