In the poem "The Race" by Sharon Olds, the usage of literary devices conveys the overall meaning of the poem. The author includes enjambment, allusion, and imagery to describe the persistence and relief the main character experiences throughout the poem. The author utilizes enjambment through the poem as a whole, Olds conveys the determination of the character is experiencing by purposely extending the sentences. The never ending sentence creates suspension, and emphasize the journey that is taking place in the poem.…
Walt Whitman is considered one of the greatest poets in history for incorporating new forms of writing in his poems. He developed free verse, a style many modern rap artists utilize. For these reasons, his impact on American poetry is also akin to the impact rap has had on American music. Firstly, Whitman often produced poetry that did not conform to the standard rhyme and meter of earlier works.…
In Whitman's “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” he paints a verbal picture of appreciating learning from experience. In lines one and two, he inundates you with heavy words like proofs, figures, charts, and diagrams that are all very strong and authoritively describing his learning experience in a lecture room. He grows "tired" and "sick" of this sense of confinement. Feeling captive and stagnant in this conventional learning environment, he longs to, instead of just reading the facts and charts about the stars, be outside to freely observe these things for himself. Finally using much lighter words such as "rising" and "gliding "and then "perfect silence", he is describing the relief and feelings of freedom of finally escaping the lecture…
Three Unique Writers Reforming Worldview “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass” (Whitman, v. 1-5). For many eras, authors and poets, like Walt Whitman have attempted to capture what it means to be an individual as a universal theme, and what it means to be an American.…
There were many amazing poets that wrote about the Civil War. During the Civil War many different people wrote poems about the Civil War. The most common person who wrote about the Civil War was Walt Whitman. Whitman’s poems were about realism and trandsadalism.…
As one of the most prominent poets of the USA, Carl Sandburg revealed numerous significant issues of the US development in the 20th century. In his poem Chicago, Sandburg depicts the American city as vibrant, progressive, and going through transformations. Despite several dark sides of its development, Chicago appears to be a beautiful and attractive city, worthy of glorifying. Strong imagery, unusual structure, divided into short and long stanzas, and metaphorical language make the poem especially picturesque and persuasive. Considering the structure of the poem is apparent that the poem is divided into two types of stanzas – short and long.…
An analysis of Merwin’s tone in his literary works compared to Whitman’s tone in his works was brought forth by L. Edwin Folsom, a professor of english at the University of Rochester, Massachusetts with a Ph.D in the subject. He specializes on the literary works of Walt Whitman and analyzes the different tones, but same purpose found in the literature of Merwin and Walt Whitman. Folsom begins with a quote from Merwin saying that he identifies himself as being an American poet, but not in any way Whitmanesque. Folsam agrees with this statement that Merwin is not Whitmanesque but has some similarities with Whitman. Merwin, like Whitman, has been obsessed with the meaning of America.…
Whitman saw a “grand tragedy that promised ultimate purgation and unification for America” in the death of Lincoln (Reynolds). Because of this view on President Lincoln, Whitman needed to grieve in some form so he created an eulogy in the form of a poem. The poem is written entirely from the son’s point of view wants to expressing encouraging news to his father. Whitman wrote this in parallel structure to himself being the son and Lincoln being the father; this shows Whitman’s “deep respect for president Lincoln and…
I have read poetry before, but it is not my favorite style to read. One of my favorite poems from my past reading would be “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman. I read this poem back years ago and it has stuck with me ever since the first time I read it. My meaning would be how each of us sing a different song as we each live a different life. This poem relates to how each person is different, yet we all have one life to live no matter what profession we choose (Albrecht, 2010).…
E pluribus unum—out of many, one. This is the motto of the United States of America, a nation that prides itself with democratic characteristics such as individual rights, community through patriotism, freedom, and equality for all. However, these concepts are just ideals as individualism and community contradict each other as well as freedom and equality, and historically America has had difficulty balancing these ideals. One of Walt Whitman poems preaches the possibility that these concepts can work together. “Song of Myself” is Whitman’s paean to his ideal of American democracy, an idea which balances, or attempts to balance, freedom with equality, individualism with community, a relentlessly inclusive, or as Whitman puts it, “absorptive”…
The world financial plaza needs a new quote on their fences on the Hudson River. At the moment the quote in the fence says, "City of the Sea!¦City of wharves and stores-city of tall facades of marble and iron! Proud and passionate city! mettlesome, mad, extravagant city! " It is always good to change things up.…
Poetry Explication Walt Whitman was an inspirational poet who mainly focuses on the ideas of Transcendentalism and Romanticism. These ideals show in the poem "When I heard the learn'd astronomer". This poem focuses on the importance of appreciating nature and is beneficial to those people who spend most of their time indoors. The poem "When I heard the learned astronomer" is explaining the issues that arise when people only view the world in an intellectual way.…
A Man’s Love Lady Mary Wroth’s “Song” illustrates her personal experience with love. Wroth relates the poem to her unhappy marriage with her husband, Robert Wroth. The couple did not have similar interests and eventually grew separate from each other. Wroth’s separation from her husband lead to her affair with William Herbert. Wroth incorporates her experiences with marriage and love into the poem by establishing a theme of caution.…
“Song of Myself” Analysis In Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself”, the sporadic writing covers many topics and themes relating to the 19th century, bringing up various issues and pleasures he finds in society. “Song of Myself” transcends time by suggesting themes that are also applicable to modern society. Whitman draws attention to the unity of all living things through using symbolism and parallel sentence structure. The “leaves of grass” reappear throughout the poem and represent unity of life.…
The Good Morrow is one of John Donne’s well known poems. It’s a love poem that consists of three stanzas. It belongs to the metaphysical school. In this poem Donne praises the true love he shares with his beloved. Moreover, he celebrates spiritual love which is better than just physical relationships which is the main conceit of the poem.…