Song of Myself (Walt Whitman) – Excerpt

1. Reader Reaction: Had I written ‘Song of Myself’ it would have been multitudes less flattering and feeling. I do not see myself as wonderfully as Mr Whitman seems to see himself. I understand that he was being poetic – still. I wish that I could understand such portly optimism. A truly romantic sentiment was his.

2. Plot: Walt Whitman entreats humanity to value itself as he values himself. He frolicks through nature – a nature he is in tune with when naked and thinks him funny when he is not. He loves and breathes the outdoors, and wishes those he sees around himself (the wedded couple, his hunting partners) to be able to drink from his same cup not-meaning-the-sports-gadget.

3. Character: Walt Whitman – beautiful, thirty-seven years old, occasionally naked, consumed; Wedding party – merry.

4. Setting: Walt Whitman is in nature, enjoying himself and enjoying humanity.

5. Point of View: First person

6. Objects/Events:

*Stave 10 is narrative, though it is two different narrations. It tells first of hunting in the woods and cooking his game. It tells next of a wedding of the trapper and the red girl. The remainder of what is included in the excerpt is not so much narrative as rhapsodic episodes of thought.

*God is often mentioned with varying degrees of importance. His ante-penultimate stave included (48) tells humanity not to worry about God, for God is natural; God is everywhere.

*Much religious reference is used (not including those mentioning ‘Biblical’ sin)

*Several sections use repetitive sentence structure in close proximity, creating units of their own. The first noticeable example is in stave 21 (‘Earth of…’). Most of the examples are in this section of the poem. Stave 24 includes four (‘No sentimentalist…No more’ ‘Unscrew the…’ ‘Voices of…’ ‘And of the…’). These are episodes of rhapsodic structure to elevate the emotional tug of his words.

*The poem is mostly un-rhymed and unstructured. Very little alliteration is used; very little internal rhyme is used. The rhyming is generally sporadic, and frequently only repetition of words (‘talkers were talking’ ‘you…you…you’).

*There is a general flow of thought. The first third is mainly a praise to himself. The second third is a praise to nature. The remaining third is mainly praise to humanity (often by praise to himself) above God.

7. Mood: Mostly, the mood is exultant. This is seen in his glorious blanketing and petal-throwing (sorry, couldn’t think of better words) of language. However, within his exultant praises, there is a very distinct and slightly bitter touch of defiance – particularly in his mentions of sex and lust and God.

8. Ideas: Innate goodness of man: Man, in his nature, is glorious. Glories of genius and youth: nothing is better in life. Nothing is comparable to a fantastic human being. God in nature: God is everywhere; he is natural. He is not something to be bothered over, for he is already everywhere.

9. Style: His sentences are long and purposefully semi-wrongly punctuated. There is an abundance of commas where, technically periods, dashes, semicolons, or some other general form of punctuation would have been preferable. He had quite the affair with commas. He used the commas to create an aura and string of long thought. For the longest time, I thought that the entire thing might be one sentence – which would be a feat to perform unnoticed.

10. Metre: Free verse. However, his rhythm of thought is very distinct, nearly always beginning his thoughts with an unstressed syllable followed by a single stressed syllable. After that point, the patterns differ greatly. Two are most prevalent. The first is a series of three or four unstressed syllables followed by sporadic accentuation. The second is a series of trochaic or spondaic, repetitive parallels meant to drive the brain from one point to another (much like quick cuts in film).

11. Sound: It sounds grand. His thoughts and language are so childlike and beautiful while punctuated with just a dabble of bitterness and sour – much like fine chocolate. His rhapsodic, quick, and yet groovily slow writing paints the most beautiful images, so, though he did not use much strict poetic sound, he created a feel with his words that is driving and doping.

12. Worldview: Humanist. Man is the centre of the world; there is nothing greater than man, for nothing greater can be seen. Man is the most beautiful and most solemn of creatures.

O Captain, My Captain (Walt Whitman)

1. Reader Reaction: Mr Whitman has created a very, very beautiful picture of a dead man. He who, like Magellan, was believed to be in charge of the greatest of expeditions never made it to shore. It’s a beautiful picture.

2. Plot: A ship that arrived after a long, difficult journey. The crowds are expectant to see this great adventurer, this captain. They can celebrate all they want. The captain is dead.

3. Character: Narrator – sad for the captain; the Captain – loved by the narrator, dead, great.

4. Setting: A ship went on a voyage to greatness, and returned to port triumphant. Triumphant in all but in the death of its captain.

5. Point of View: First person.

6. Objects/Events:

*Inclusio: Concluding line of each stanza is ‘….fallen cold and dead.’

*Repetition of line ‘O captain, my captain…’ at the beginning of each stanxa

*Stanza shape. Margin shifts further and further left beginning with line five of each stanza further and further right.

*Use of imagery is prevalent ‘weath’red’ ‘bells I hear’ ‘vessel grim and daring.’ He is giving a very, very clear image while not giving an enormous amount of detail. Reader is free to imagine in very strict, elaborate parameters.

*The first stanza focuses on the wear the vessel has sustained throughout the journey. The second stanza focuses on the triumph awaiting the ship in the dock. The final stanza is a lamentation for the captain.

7. Mood: There is a great euphonous triumph that is enormously evident in the imagery used. However, there is a tired heaviness upon the ship for its wear. However, the greatest emotion is mourning for the captain.

8. Ideas: The importance of a leader: when a leader fails to be able to receive what he has so worked for, he is gypped of his triumph. Furthermore, death often robs any triumph one might have received in life.

9. Style: The sentences are extremely long and romantically punctuated. Oftentimes the sentence will not break until the margin starts to shift. AFter the margin shift, sentences are exclamatory. The language, though, is passionate.

10. Metre: Relatively iambic. The longer sequences of rhythm are iambs, but, for the most part, the poem has relatively no metre.

11. Sound: The sound is long and tragic. it almost weeps.

12: Worldview: Nihilistic in its despair for humanity when dead, for there is no way to enjoy any triumph that could be had in life.

Ulysses (Lord Tennyson)

1. Reader Reaction: I wonder if anyone criticized Dante for adding to Homer’s story. I doubt it. I think they probably had other issues with his writing. ‘Ulysses’ is grand and sad. I can’t help feeling for him, if being slightly outraged at the addition to Odyssey.

2. Plot: Odysseus speaks to his people about his reasons for leaving Ithaca.He is tired of the people there and misses the ocean. He wants to know what is beyond the horizon. He is leaving his son, Telemachus, to rule the unruly nation he is king over to sail beyond the horizon.

3. Character: Odysseus – old, tired, bored, adventurous, curious, bold; Telemachus – trustworthy; Penelope – old.

4. Setting: It has been years since Ulysses has returned from his ten-year war and ten-year journey home. What was once his greatest hope has now been revealed to have been a dull place full of savages. He realizes that there is much more to explore beyond the horizon and wishes to travel west until he dies.

5. Point of View: First-person.

6. Objects/Events:

*Stanzas are arranged into two sections of two. The first and third stanzas are relatively short (though uneven); the second and fourth stanzas are relatively long (though also uneven).

*The themes of each stanzas are thus; (1) his situation (2) his reasons (3) his provisions (4) his intentions.

*Odysseus is, loosely, a symbol for age and restlessness. Oftentimes the goal to which one aspires turns out to be nothing more than normality full of stupid people. The stories our elders tell are the stories of great tragedy and difficulty. In a sense, we are addicted to sorrow.

*Several mythological ideas are referred to (all Greek): Hyades causing rain, Battle of Troy, baths, Happy Isles.

*Personification: ‘vessel puffs her sail’

*Mentions a lot of weather: rain, wind, shine, ocean-spray, etc.

*Relatively little figurative language is used.

7. Mood: It is frustrated in its despair of people and those around him. It is disappointed that his ultimate goal in life actually turned out to be bland.

8. Ideas: He is If viewed as a metaphor, the poem addresses several point of restlessness. (1) the dullness of love: with time, love becomes less wonderful. (2) the draw of the unexplored: humanity shall always want to know what is in the ‘bath.’ (3) the sorrow of lost friends: good friends die in the endeavors we have in life. Those friends cannot be replaced. (4) The draw of the afterlife: the opportunity to see the great people we once knew again. (5) the fools that surround: Most of the people in life one meets are fools and burdensome.

9. Style: The sentences are extremely long and heavily punctuated. The entire feel of the poem is that of a formal speech. There is no rhyme, no metre, no structure, so the poem should be conversational. However, it is more poetic than conversation (even a romanticized one). The poem is written as an oration would be written. To fuss with things like rhyme and metre would be to spoil the gravitas of an event.

10. Metre: Free verse. As I said before, had he messed with set feet, the gravitas would have been ruined. As it is, the poem has a very flowing rhythm – a very grand rhythm.

11. Sound: Though there is no rhyme, the visual structure as well as the hard breaks in paragraph lend to a euphonic sound that is generally used in formal speaking. This euphony further adds to the grandeur.

12. Worldview: ‘Ulysses’ is humanist. Man is all there is, and he is the measure of everything. One can only be as good as one can be within. If those men around are fools, why bother with them?

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time (Robert Herrick)

1. Reader Reaction: It’s sad that an older woman seldom ever marries. Oftentimes, they are more beautiful. That’s not to say that every unmarried woman is beautiful or pleasant; simply, oftentimes they were too good for men. That is unfair.

2. Plot: A narrator tells virgins to enjoy their youth and marry, for they shall not be forever young.

3. Character: Narrator – implied age. Virgins – young, beautiful, unmarried.

4. Setting: An older narrator sees that these young women are being coy and spending their little time unwisely.

5. Point of View: Third-person imperative.

6. Objects/Events:

* Each of the verses is a sentence individually.

*Poem is structured around metaphors. v3-4 – flower as compared to time. s2 – the sun as compared to life. Both metaphors are used to signify the passing of time. Both are Biblical metaphors.

*Reference to Father time in v2.

*Repetition v11 – ‘worse, and worst’

*Personification: ‘old time’ (v2) ‘flower that smiles’ (v3) ‘[sun’s] race will be run’ (v7) ‘use your time’ (v13)  ‘having lost…your prime’ (v15)

*Poem builds to an epiphany in final verse, informing them of the dullness of life if one never marries.

7. Mood: It delivers sadness for lost time and lost youth. It delivers frustration at the young women who waste that precious time that is youth.

8. Ideas: Importance of marriageable age: Women should marry. Furthermore, women should marry early. Time: it is short. Life gets ‘worse, and worst Times succeed the former.’

9. Style: The sentences are long and uniform. The first line is broken by the second line. The second line is broken by a semicolon. The final line is an explanation of the previous. The language is bitter and simple, though archaic in our own merits. He used common terminology but grand metaphors.

10. Metre: Though the poem begins in more of an anapest, it finishes off in a rather straightforward iamb. The first and third line average nine syllables, while the alternate lines average seven.

11. Sound: A fair amount of alliteration is used (‘today Tomorrow’, ‘heaven…higher’, ‘race be run’, etc). The only true rhyme used is the end rhyme (scheming ABAB CDCD EFEF, etc). The language he uses is the equivalent of an open chord in music. The absence of a third to accompany the fifth and octave (in a majour of minor) creates a hollow ring that the note makes with its fifth. The ‘Virgins’ is not a poem of tight rhymes. It is a more stately, sombre poem.

12. Worldview: Existential: Though the author was likely Christian, the poem is existential in the fact that life is experience and there is nothing beyond the grave. Reality is made up of our own feelings, and those feelings rot with time. For that sense of rot, it is vaguely nihilistic, but it remains existential.

 

A Poison Tree (William Blake)

Let’s forget his wonderful language. Let’s ignore the beautiful trochaic couplets, shall we? The metaphor of a tree, tenderly grown with hate and evil smiles, is lovely. The entire poem is a metaphor. The end confuses me, though. If the foe is outstretched beneath the tree, he (a) had a Newton moment and was struck dead by an apple (b) was being shaded by the very thing meant to kill him (c) died of a heart attack at the knowledge of suck ill will against him (d) tripped while practicing flamenco (e) ate from the poison tree and died (f) et cetera. Any of these are unexpected. I expected the foe to be hanging by the branches. Bravo! An ambiguous ending. All I ever wanted in life. I think that the stole into the garden at night and ate the apple that was mine (Blake’s) and died. Still, I would not mind option (d). The poem was haunting and delightfully grotesque.

The One Girl at the Boy’s Party (Sharon Olds)

Was it the Lost Boys or Peter Pan who said that a girl is wroth twenty boys? Doesn’t matter. A girl is worth twenty boys. At least they are to boys. If nothing else, they’re smarter. More interesting. Sharon Olds does a brilliant job using mathematical terms in order to parallel the actual situation (as well as the contrast between sexes) that is playing. Her description of a little girl’s wet ponytail as a pencil tip is funny and appropriate. There is always one girl at a boy’s party. There is always one boy at a girl’s party. They are the interesting ones.

homage to my hips (Lucille Clifton)

I’m sure she’d be disappointed to find that this, in neglect of all her deeper stuff, is my favourite poem of hers. It is hilarious. Much as I may snicker at plus-size mannequins (no woman that size is that trim), her bouncing display of hip is liberating. The repeated sounds (the th’s the hips), oddly broken verses, and lack of proper capitalization add to the comfort and attitude of the poem. It is warm in its conversationality. It’s imaginative descriptions (‘magic hips…might hips’) give brilliant mental images of hippopotami in blonde wigs and red cocktail dresses. All this is finished with a delicious innuendo at the end. This poem is hilarious. This poem is hilarious.