rom. poetry whitman dickinson

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.

rom. poetry whitman dickinson

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