Comparing I Hear America Singing And To Walt Whitman

2-3 Specific elements of figurative language the author uses to convey this theme are: Alliteration, Metaphor.

Born ten years after the death of Walt Whitman, there was no possible way for Langston Hughes to ever meet or communication with Whitman, but that did not mean Hughes could not establish a connection to him, or at least his work. In 1925, Hughes wrote a poem titled “I, Too” was inspired by and directed in response to the poem “I Hear America Singing”, which was composed by Whitman much earlier. Whitman’s poem consisted of a variety of different American laborers who “sing” as they do their jobs. This well-known poem never specifically addresses the ethnicity of these singing laborers of the American population, but Hughes sets about to rectify that omission.

The two poems also share a lot of similarities. The first and most obvious similarity is the titles. The two titles "I Hear America Singing" and "I, Too, Sing America" both have America singing, or singing about America. In the two poems the poets talk about what they think America is at the time they lived. In Walt Whitman`s he talks about how Americans work together and do good at their jobs to make a great country. In the poem by Hughes he talks about what is wrong with how Americans think discrimination is right and he wants America to be like the way Whitman described it which is Americans helping each other build and sustain their country. The two poets have a lot of love for their country and really want to see America as a safe and unified country.

Poets Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes were both imperatives leaders during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance took place in the 1920s where the social, cultural, and political arts greatly expanded in Harlem, New York. Countee Cullen’s poem “Incident” was produced in ballad form as it covey’s emotion and proves to be written for everyday people. The speaker of his poem appears to be a young African American man as suggested by his use of first person. The speaker in this poem recalls a memory from his youth while riding the bus. The memory however is not so pleasant, as it depicts the sorrow that comes along with unjust racial conflict. This can be seen in the second stanza, “Now I was eight and very small/And he was no whit

“I Hear America Singing” is a poem by Walt Whitman that’s about people singing their own songs. “I, Too” is a poem by Langston Hughes. "I, Too" and "I Hear America Singing" both resemble American history. Walt Whitmans’ poem is very uplifting, subtle and happy. As well as a sense of belonging. While, Langston Hughes’ poem has an emotional effect of removal, but also has a daring and hopeful attitude in the way that it is written. “I Hear America Singing” is very uplifting and a happy poem, while “I, Too” is sorrowful and insurgent.

Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou were both African American writers back in the time were segregation and racism were out in the open. Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" was released later than Langston Hughes Poem "I, Too, Sing America", but they are both writing about racism during their time period. Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" was published in 1978 which was a time period where lives for the African American people was getting better, but that does not mean that it was an amazing life. In 1978 the government may have been helping African American people and there were African American people in the army, but that did not mean all white Americans accepted the African American. Langston Hughes Poem "I, Too, Sing America" was published

Alive from 1819 - 1892, Walt Whitman was and still is a famous poet from the 1800s. One of his famous poems "I Hear America Sing" was written to portray Whitman's thoughts and ideas of America. In the poem, Whitman hears the many different sounds of every day workers that incorporate to the life and culture of America. To Whitman, they are not just any ordinary sounds, in his ears it sounds like music. Alive from 1902 - 1967, we have Langston Hughes! Known best as one of the innovators for jazz music, Langston Hughes was also a very inspirational poet. Due to living most of his life in segregation, his poems have the visual outline of segregation with a deeper stronger meaning. "I, Too" was not one of Langston Hughes most famous poems, but was definitely one of

In American Literature Walt Whitman is recognized by many for his ideas of Democracy. Examples can be found in the theme of “A song of myself” and “A noiseless patient spider” two very fine works of Whitman’s style.

In Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing”, one is exposed to an America seen by the eyes of a poet, essayist and journalist during the years of one of the most important times in American history, the Civil War. From 1819 to 1892, Whitman lived through many experiences, including the atrocities and successions of the Civil War, which not only lead to the establishment of his multiple accredited works, but also, the creation of the prideful, positive, jubilant image of America and its citizens in the poem “I Hear America Singing”. The poem exhibits these qualities through its free verse structure, repetition, and overall choice of words. Using free verse, Whitman demonstrates the kind of freedom the United States had won and continues to fight for, its rhythm not only attributes to this hidden meaning, but also creates a likeable tone for readers to interpret the poem in a non-forceful way; this allows one to read it leisurely. For example, this is shown especially in the last three lines of the poem, which say “Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the day - at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.” This shows the empowerment of the gradual rise of democracy in citizens of America protesting and fighting for what they own and what they believe in not only as individuals, but also what they own as a nation. These lines exhibit the positive nature by not

Emily Dickinson’s There is a certain Slant of light and Walt Whitman Song of myself, Section 52 is contrasted by the different elements used to depict the emotional responses of nature from their own experiences of life.

American Romanticism focuses on the imagination, emotions and idealized perspectives of the world. Romanticism is in opposition to the forms and conventions of Neoclassical Literature and is a reaction to the Age of reason which preceded Romanticism. Reason was ruled out in this era in place of imagination, individuality, and emotions, which are all three roots that defines Romanticism. Although, Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself and Frederick Douglass’ Narrative were written ten years apart, many persons that wrote in this era represented the major ideas and themes of the Romanticism era.

It is in this sense that Whitman, always the egalitarian, who said of America and its people that ‘This is the city and I am one of its citizens’ (NAofAl, p.1347), posits the totality of American society as being involved in the active composition of the Poem of America. Indeed, in the Preface to Leaves of Grass, Whitman encourages his readers to ‘plunge [their] semitic muscle’ (NAofAL, p.1309) into America in an act of national pro-creation! All facets of society must involve themselves in seeking out their truths and experiences to contribute to this poem, and so Whitman asserts that ‘You are also asking my questions…,/I answer that I cannot answer, you must find out for yourself’ (NAofAL, p.1352). America is a new space for individuals and groups alike to forge their own lives, free from the burdensome shackles of the Old World.

Any ideology, ranging from one deeply rooted in society to one seen as taboo, can be viewed and judged in different manners by each individual. The outlook of the poem “I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and " What Is the American Dream Today?" by Kimberly Amadeo on the substance of the American Dream differs greatly. Between both sources, the commonality of discussing American culture is attained, which is a philosophy based upon freedom, yet they vary in the way they interpret the American Dream between their context and language. While one believes in the traditional American Dream, the other believes in a modern version of it that is accepted today.

In both Walt Whitman's "I hear America Singing" and Sherman Alexie's "Hymn," America is uniquely defined. In Walt Whitman's poem, he describes America as being a place packed with many citizens singing to their hearts content. Each of these people, he writes, possesses their own trade or hobby that fulfills them. By belting their own melody, they each express their own vision of "The American Dream." Whether it be the carpenter, or the mason, or the mechanic; each American citizen works hard individually to chase their own desires while simultaneously being apart of the massive group of dreamers who work together to all make America prosperous and beautiful. This is similar to how in a choir each vocal part has its own part that is great by itself, but when combined with other vocal parts magnificent since a gorgeous harmony is formed. In Whitman's idea, America is a place of dreamers who all march to the beat of their own drum to achieve anything in the realm of possibility. This collective effort helps to build America into a place that is innovative and promising.

Walt Whitman begins his poem, “Song of Myself,” with: “I celebrate myself /And what I assume you shall assume/For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (lines 1-3). In these lines, Whitman shows that everyone is equal. Equality is a quintessentially democratic and thus American ideal. But in the Editor’s Introduction, Malcolm Cowley does not believe the poem is American or democratic. Instead, he claims Whitman referenced Eastern texts, which tethers to the poem’s mystic and ecstatic qualities. However, considering Whitman’s patriotism, democratic beliefs, and his own rendition of spirituality, his poem is actually more Western than Eastern. Cowley fails to provide a concise criticism of “Song of Myself” in his reference to Eastern ideas and texts, and in turn fails to acknowledge Whitman’s love for America.