Warm-up

1.What is America to you? 2. How do the squares on this quilt represent

individuals in America?

Walt WhitmanFree Verse Poetry

Objectives• I can recognize a poem written in free

verse.

• I can analyze the diction and structure of a free verse poem to interpret the tone.

• I can evaluate a Walt Whitman poem for his Romantic view of antebellum America.

Free VerseFree verse poetry is poetry that

does not contain regular patterns of rhyme and meter.

YET Whitman does still use POETIC DEVICES.

Poetic Devices: Cataloging

• Cataloging: frequent lists of people, things, and attributes

• Example: – “The shoemaker singing as he sits on his

bench, the hatter singing as he stands…”

Poetic Device: Repetition

• Repetition: repeated words or phrases at the beginning of two or more lines

• Example:– “Beat! Beat! Drums! --- Blow! Bugles!

Blow!”

Poetic Devices: Parallelism

• Parallelism: related ides phrased in a similar way

• Example: – “born here of parents born here of

parents the same, and their parents the same”

Tone •

REVIEW: A writer’s attitude toward his or her subject.

– Example: • “I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs

to you” TRIUMPHANT

• “I too am not a bit tamed, I am untranslatable” IMPERTINENT; BOLD

Theme• Through these poetic devices and

free verse structure he expresses his thematic ideas:

– For example: Individuals should not be overlooked; instead, everyone’s contribution to America’s success must be celebrated.

Assignment• Read “I Hear America Singing” &

“Song of Myself” as a class

• Read “Beat! Beat! Drums!” in groups

• Complete worksheet in groups

• BE READY for a quiz over today’s material!

Walt Whitman’s America

• Walt Whitman believed that America’s beauty was aroused from individual citizens.

• How does the speaker in the “This I Believe” article complement Whitman’s ideology?