Walt Whitman´s poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” uses the theme of time to communicate a sense of Trancendentalist unity. Whitman's Transcendentalist speaker enters the "appearances" and "usual costumes" of the universe of wonders keeping in mind the end goal to find the truth that ties each and all together in one
The speaker, as The title already indicates taking a ferry in New York,does not waste any time before presenting the idea that all humans are united in their common experience. The narrator imagines those who will cross the river in the future,this could also indicate a metaphor for the overall journey of a human life. He is very optimistic and at ease :He and also everyone else is to him a part of "the simple, compact, well-join'd
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He then discusses the body as a means of attaining one's identity:„I too had received identity by my body,“The body is given importantce since it contains the Soul and allows us to experience the world.It also serves a purpose in the following section.A section which is unlike any other in the poem,it is quite a contrast to the overall celebratory tone, as the speaker describes his alleged evil actions and thoughts.This is important because when he lets us know things he has told nobody else it draws an another connection between the poet and us in any point in time.However it is followed by a section in which the speaker´s positivity is redeemed by living „the same life with the rest“ and just as „the rest“ he:„Played the part that still looks back on the actor or …show more content…
What the push of reading could not start is started by me personally, is it not?“ In the last section of the poem ,once again all the images of the ferry ride are one by one reprised and united together like „The glories strung like beads on my smallest sights and hearings“ It serves to help the reader to remember all that preceded. While before he demonstrated things independently, blended with his own contemplations, here he consolidates them into one major celebration.
This segment, and the whole poem, comes full circle in a last stanza where Whitman utilizes the pronoun we again, as though the reader and the speaker have at last been joined together. We are now able to see the world with new perspective or „free sense“ When something has been encountered, that experience stays with the individual:„We use you, and do not cast you aside—we plant you/ permanently within us/We fathom you not—we love you—there is perfection in you also“
Despite the fact that we don't completely comprehend or "fanthom" these things, we adore them in any case and now they are
Mulga Bills Bicycle was written by A.B. “Banjo” Paterson. It is a humorous poem about a man who believes he can ride anything from Bull to Bike. He has never ridden a bike and thinks that he is the best rider in the world. Mulga Bills Bicycle is a poem with verse of irregular lengths. It uses simple language and imagery to generate strong dramatic action and dialogue. The poem has a regular rhythm in rhyming couplets which adds momentum and humour to the story.
They feel as if they are all, “real cool”. However, as the poem continues, the repeated "We" is seen not at the beginning, but at the end of each line. This simultaneously displays a certain aspect that was not seen in the first line. It shows certain confusions and distinct uncertainties about the group’s identity, or even as an example of protesting too much, whether there's a group identity at all. Who is “We” that they are so insistent about? Repeated as it is, the “We” gets smaller and smaller. She is saying that in life it may seem like “we”, but it all comes to a point where the “we” gradually starts representing one individual, rather than a whole group. The poet has in fact said that the "we" is supposed to be read in a small and uncertain way, thus the reason for the unpunctuated "we" at the end of each line after the initial “We” in the beginning of the poem. That word kind of becomes a question, as well as a refrain. The unity that was seen in the beginning becomes less and less apparent as the poem continues.
The collection of poems and ancient hymns, Classic of Poetry, which gained the significance of the classical canon, for thousands of years occupied a special place as a book of revelations and life experiences. The lyrical poetry in Classic of Poetry is full of simplicity and artlessness, but it is not primitive, on the contrary, the result of a great artistic culture, rich folklore tradition, persistent faceted poetic form. In the poem "Fishhawk," we find a gentle maiden to be "pure and fair," and those two adjectives repeats throughout the poem to illustrate the value of virtue. The repetition throughout the poem makes the reader feel like the prince was really yearn for the maiden, and the maiden is the only thing that the seeker can see.
The tone of the poem changes as the poem progresses. The poem begins with energetic language like “full of heroic tales” and “by a mere swing to his shoulder”. The composer also uses hyperboles like “My father began as a god” and “lifted me to heaven”. The use of this positive language indicates to the responder that the composer is longing for those days – he is nostalgic. It also highlights the perspective of a typical child. The language used in the middle of the poem is highly critical of his father: “A foolish small old man”. This highlights the perspective of a typical teenager and signifies that they have generally conflicting views. The language used in the last section of the poem is more loving and emotional than the rest: “...revealing virtues such as honesty, generosity, integrity”. This draws attention to a mature adult’s perspective.
Furthermore, poetry, and the personification of poetry, conversations with old friends and family, should not need a special occasion, rather it should “ride the bus” with patience for the stops before your own and the understanding of other’s needs before your own (line 13). You can also say the bus can represent the speed at which life passes you by and how easy it is to miss something if you are not paying attention, or even, that these missed moments have a poem to help you along your long journey home. With the use of
The appreciation of nature is illustrated through imagery ‘and now the country bursts open on the sea-across a calico beach unfurling’. The use of personification in the phrase ‘and the water sways’ is symbolic for life and nature, giving that water has human qualities. In contrast, ‘silver basin’ is a representation of a material creation and blends in with natural world. The poem is dominated by light and pure images of ‘sunlight rotating’ which emphasizes the emotional concept of this journey. The use of first person ‘I see from where I’m bent one of those bright crockery days that belong to so much I remember’ shapes the diverse range of imagery and mood within the poem. The poet appears to be emotional about his past considering his thoughts are stimulated by different landscapes through physical journey.
The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the
While reading both stories, they both seemed to share the same theme. The theme that both stories shared is the dedication to do work even if it isn’t necessary. In, “Clearing Paths to the Past” The person states they have an obligation to clear their sidewalk so others can use the sidewalk to get somewhere. In, “To be of use” the person telling the poem explains how they love to be dedicated to doing work even when they do not need to do the work with any effort.
The use of symbolism and imagery is beautifully orchestrated in a magnificent dance of emotion that is resonated throughout the poem. The two main ideas that are keen to resurface are that of personal growth and freedom. Furthermore, at first glimpse this can be seen as a simple poem about a women’s struggle with her counterpart. However, this meaning can be interpreted more profoundly than just the causality of a bad relationship.
Also included in the poem is the image of a young child being embraced by their elders. This shows the gap in life and the aging process that we go through. When we are young we are carefree, but as we age we hold on to the ones we love because of the knowledge that we will one day have to make our departure. Out of this idea of death, Whitman shows that this is a natural part of life and
These two seemingly opposite tones and moods existing in one poem simultaneously resemble the ambiguity in the speaker that he reveals when he describes his condition very ambiguously. For instance, in the first line, he portrays himself as a “dead man”(1), but in the line immediately after, the dead man is moaning, which is biologically impossible. The unclear subject raises the issue of who the speaker is, if he should not be able to comment on himself because he is already dead. When the speaker uses the same pronouns, “he” and “him” from both the first person and the third person perspectives to refer to himself, this becomes even more puzzling; the readers are no longer sure of who the speaker is and who the subject of the poem is. One possible cause of these uncertainties is the discrepancy between the speaker’s real self and his public self; one that resembles who he
For these works of art are not yet consecrated in their reading; but the poet sees the fall within the great Order not less than the bee-hive or the spider’s geometrical web” (Emerson 4). Whitman effortlessly combines both the mechanical and the natural: The large and small steamers in motion, the pilots in their pilot-houses, The white wake left by the passage, the quick tremulous whirl of the wheels, The scallop-edged waves in the twilight, the ladled cups, the frolicsome crests and glistening, The stretch afar growing dimmer and dimmer, the gray walls of the
Whitman begins by creating a contradictory image of himself. On one hand he relays an egotistical representation by alluding that he is the center of the universe, "a kosmos, of Manhattan the son," almost a deistic type of character. Whitman also describes himself as not being above any one person, woman or man, an obvious contradiction to his previous representation. His God-like persona is depicted in human terms, physical qualities that all humans possess. Whitman creates this contradiction to show his belief that he is everything, but is only this way because everything is a part of him. He represents himself as part of a whole&emdash;nature, mankind, and the universe are all a part of him. By being everything in nature and nature being a part of him, Whitman has the power to become the voice of nature as a whole. He speaks for nature and mankind when they do not possess the power to do so. Whitman is the voice of all.
The duration of Maya Angelou’s life saw African Americans being looked down upon by and oppressed by whites. People like Angelou weren’t seen as equals or professionals that strived for success which is something Angelou greatly defends in poetry. Angelou believes that anyone can be successful and prosper with hard work regardless of the color of their skin. In the poem “Times-Square-Shoeshine-Composition,” Angelou depicts a day in the life of an African American shoe shiner in Times Square, and a white man’s pity and refusal to support the shoe shiner’s business which can relate to all. In her poem “Times-Square-Shoeshine-Composition”, Angelou creates a distinct speaker’s voice using sound elements and structural variations to prove that African Americans can achieve success and prosperity despite being looked down upon.
The poem talks about a man- an anonymous “he”- a perfectionist whose poetry was understandable and who, himself, understood “human folly” and the human psyche like “the back of his hand”. He was