A New American PoetA New American Poet

Walt Whitman 1819 – 1892

WALT WHITMAN

Leaves of GrassLeaves of Grass

A spiritual autobiographyExpanded and revised 9 times

throughout Whitman’s lifeIt “tells the story of an enchanted

observer who says who he is at every opportunity and claims what he loves by naming it.”

“this is no book/Who touches this touches a man” (Evler 349).

Leaves of GrassLeaves of Grass

“Too boldly new and strange to win the attention of reviews or readers who had fixed ideas about poetry”

Wrote Emerson of it, “I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom…”(Evler 349).

Poetic Devices of Poetic Devices of WhitmanWhitman

AlliterationAssonance ImageryOnomatopoeiaCatalogPersonificationMetaphor

ConsonanceParallel structureRepetitionAnaphora (repetition of

words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences)

Cadence Informal or slang;

invented wordsTone

AlliterationAlliterationThe repetition of

the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

It is used to create musical effects and to establish mood.

From “Song of Myself #1”

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

AssonanceAssonanceFrom “Song of

Myself #1”“I loaf and

invite my soul, I lean and

loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.”

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds; especially in words that are close together.

Alliteration and Alliteration and ConsonanceConsonance

Alliteration: The repetition of the

same or similar consonantsounds at the beginning of

wordsThat are close together.Consonance: The repetition oflike consonant sounds in themiddle and end of words.Assonance: The repetition ofsimilar vowel sounds.

Alliteration, Consonance, andAssonance are used to createmusical effects and to establishMood and tone.

From “Song of Myself #1”by Walt Whitman

“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 loaf and invite my soul, I lean and loaf at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass…”

ImageryImagery

The use of language to evoke a mental picture or a concrete sensation of a person, place, thing, or idea.

“Alone far in the wilds and mountains I hunt,Wandering amazed at my own lightness and glee,In the late afternoon choosing a safe spot to pass the night,Kindling a fire and broiling the fresh-killed game,Falling asleep on the gathered leaves with my dog and gun by my side.”

Leaves of Grass #10

Simile and MetaphorSimile and Metaphor

Simile: Making a comparison between two unlike things using “like,” “as,” or “than.”

Metaphor: Making the same comparison without the comparative language.

“Dreams”

by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

PersonificationPersonificationGiving humanqualities toanimals ornonliving things

Example: Time stood still.

The car hugged the road.

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia The use of words whose sound

imitates or suggests its meaning like buzz, bang, pow, zoom, clomp, etc.

This form of imagery appeals to the sense of hearing.

“The runaway slavecame to my house andstopp’d outside,/ I heardhis motions crackling

thetwigs of the woodpile…”

CatalogCatalog A list of people, things,

or events Whitman uses long,

descriptive lists to express “the voice of America.”

“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,/ Those of mechanics…The carpenter singing…The mason singing…The boatman singing…The wood-cutter’s song…”

It’s All in the Way It’s It’s All in the Way It’s WrittenWrittenParallel Structure: The repetition

of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structure

From “Song of Myself #33”“…I am the hounded slave, I

wince at the bite of the dogs,… I clutch the rails of the fence, my

gore dribs..”

Make It Sound Like MusicMake It Sound Like MusicCadence: The natural, rhythmic

rise and fall of language as it is normally spoken. It is not written to a particular, predictable meter of language.

Free Verse: Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

Walt Whitman was the first American poet to use free verse.

A Style All His OwnA Style All His OwnTone: A writer’s attitude

toward a given subject. Tone is determined through a study of words and descriptions used by the author.

Tone is dependent upon diction and style.

“The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and loitering./

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,/ I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world” (“Song of Myself #52”).

A Few More ThingsA Few More ThingsWhitman used “chunky language” to

enlarge the possibilities of American poetry.

He used slang words or invented words like “Yawp” to reflect the depth of heart he hoped to express.

In repetition he trumpeted America as a land of greatness, diversity, passion, and optimism. He wrote of a great America.

Leaves of Grass was evolved from 12 unnamed poems inA small collection to more than 383 in its final edition.

InIn Leaves of Grass Leaves of GrassWhitman wrote this collection of poetry as an epic, a great journey of the poet who is the hero. He is a hero of the future and all of his actions reflect a spiritual and sometimes physical journey across the landscape of America.

Whitman “cajoles, and thunders; he chants, celebrates, chuckles, and caresses.”

Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman“spills from his capacious American soul every dreg of unEnglishness, every sweet sound thumbing its nose at traditional subject matter and tone. Here is Samson pulling the house of literature down around his ears, yet singing in the ruins” (Evler 350).

“The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he absorbed it.”

Walt Whitman

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.They send me to eat in the kitchenWhen company comes,But I laugh,And eat well,And grow strong.

Tomorrow,I'll be at the tableWhen company comes.Nobody'll dareSay to me,"Eat in the kitchen,"Then.

Besides,They'll see how beautiful I amAnd be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

- Langston Hughes

“I, Too, Sing America”

Reflection: Write a half page reflection about why you might have omitted a group/groups from your poem. Discuss their contribution, positive or negative, to your school.

OR

Write a half page reflection on why you think Whitman might have left out a particular group in his poem.