Essay about "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman

First of all, “O Captain, My Captain” uses extended metaphors, while “Shiloh: A Requiem” does not. Walt Whitman uses many extended metaphors, such as “Captain” referring to Abraham Lincoln, and “fearful trip” meaning the Civil War. This shows how “O Captain, My Captain” uses extended metaphors to give the poem a deeper meaning than it seems. Meanwhile, Herman Melville does not use extended metaphors in his poem. Additionally, “Shiloh: A Requiem” uses personification to convey the mood, and “O Captain, My Captain” does not. For example, Herman Melville uses the phrase “The church so lone” to help convey the mood. This shows personification because loneliness is an emotion, and an inanimate object cannot feel emotions. However, “O Captain, My Captain” does not use personification in the poem. In conclusion, this shows that the two authors use unique means to get their messages

The suggestions of equality between all people are not blatant and are not abundant in “Song of Myself” but they do exist, showing that Whitman was not as neutral as most readers are led to believe. He believed in equality.

Like in many of his other poems, Whitman uses free verse in this short literary work. His free verse style in this one stanza is written without a specific pattern of rhyme or meter. Innovation flows through the lines as Whitman is unpredictable with his rhythm. In the eight lines (one stanza) of this poem, he creates an anecdotal feel by having the lines vary in length and giving variety to the stressed and unstressed syllables. For example, the first two lines stress the long beat on the third syllable with the words “heard” (line 1) and “proof” (line 2), whereas the third line stresses the fourth syllable with “shown” (line 3). Then continues to the fourth line to stress the long beat on the second syllable using a comma: “When I,” (line 4). These first four lines act as a setup while the speaker recalls listening to the astronomer’s lecture. Whitman demonstrates anaphora in the poem by having each line in this setup begin with the word “When” to illustrate to the reader that the speaker is evoking a prior experience. Whitman utilizes multiple

“Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” is Walt Whitman’s way of personifying the everyday experiences of living in society; specifically, Whitman’s firsthand account of his routine crossing on the Brooklyn Ferry. To achieve this is his poem Whitman utilizes the use of repetition to emphasize specific points throughout the works. This is particularly evident in stanza six, here Whitman begins each statement with the phrase “I too”; in doing so Whitman exploits the device of repetition to consolidate the striking commonalities each individual share. By relating to such familiar commonalities such as “I too walk’d the streets of Manhattan, and bathed in its waters.”, the author brings the reader onto level ground and utilizes the familiar experiences of common

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

The pace of the poem is kept by Whitman’s use of verbs. Words such as measures,

However, he also thinks about how he is not just drifting through society but he is part of the large society. Whitman tries to connect himself with the crowd of people that cross the ferry but, sees himself as part of the big picture instead of not having a place there. Whitman relates himself to just not being a part the past, present but, also thinks of himself being a part of the future. Also, he examines himself and also by taking all of life in the future into consideration. “We fathom you not-we love you-there is perfection in you also, you furnish your parts toward eternity, great or small, you furnish your parts toward the soul.”

I did not enjoy reading “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” I thought it was a very boring poem since the mood was sad. It took me a while to realize that Whitman was mourning President Lincoln’s death. I believe their was not much going on in the poem. It just describes the grieving. Whitman seemed to love President Lincoln. He proves this when he stated, “O how shall I warble myself for the death on there I loved? And how shall I deck my song for the large sweet soul that has gone?” Whitman speaks about Lincoln as if he was a family member. Someone he was close to and is having a hard time getting over the death. Although death is a sad subject, Whitman’s becomes more uplifting when he notes, “Dark mother always gliding near

Similar to The Span of Life, West-Running Brook focuses on the passing of life, and acceptance of death. This poem depicts the building of a bridge across a brook. The bridge is a symbol of marriage, and the flowing brook is passing life. "And it is time, strength, tone, light, life, and love-And even substance lapsing unsubstantial; The universal cataract of death"(Frost3). This poem is a great example of how Frost saw life, as a "running brook".

He demonstrates being non-judgmental, which is something people of his time do not understand, let alone today in present time. He goes on later to say "I resist anything better than my own diversity, and breathe the air and leave plenty after me, and am not stuck up, and am in my place" (2756). Whitman feels that he has explored the world and the options around him and now has found his place. He knows his inner self and it has guided him to the place he needs to be.

Every sentence in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" tends to either repeat or contradict. He even says of himself, "I contradict myself" (Lauter, p. 2793). This can make Whitman's poetry a little confusing to some. In his many stanzas, definition of the soul is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory.

The speaker states, “Rise up – for you the flag is flung- for you the bugle trills” (line 10). This is interpreted as the ending of the war due to the patriotic symbolism of the flag which stands for freedom and also victory. Within this stanza, the importance of the captain is now extended from just the speaker to all those who await the ship’s arrival. This is demonstrated as the speaker states, “For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning” (lines 11-12). The joyful tone of the stanza ceases towards the end as an unexpected downfall of emotions begins. Whitman uses repetition in lines 15 and 16 when he states “It is some dream that on the deck, / You’ve fallen cold and dead” (lines 15-16). This serves as a disturbing reminder that the figure which was most significant to the entire situation is no longer alive.

Along with the use of metaphors, the form of the poem plays an important role in uncovering the views of Whitman. First and foremost, this poem was written in free verse which is a form of poetry that lacks structure. The free verse stucture of the poem is shown in the lack of form in the stanzas of the poem. Some stanzas are six lines long while others are only one, and the lines can be either concise or drawn out. The poem also lacks any apparent rhyming scheme or rhythm. Unlike Shakespearean poetry, where the foot of the poem stays the same, the lack of any apparent structure to the poem leaves the reader unable to predict what is coming next. In addition to this, at the time this poem was written, free verse was not common. In fact, Whitman may have been one of the first poets to use this form, showing that he may have been rebelling against the predominant structured form in poetry. The lack of any apparent structure guides the reader towards the conclusion that Whitman did not like structure in poetry, and can even be

In the poem ¨ Songs of Myself ¨ by Walt Whitman, the poet expresses their´s and the individual's place in the world and how everything is the same. Whitman professes ¨ For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you¨ (ll.3). This line from the poem explains how everyone is the same. The poet uses the word atom since everything contains atoms. The poet is trying to show that everyone and everything are made of the same thing. Furthermore, Whitman believes ¨ Not I, not anyone else, can travel that road for you, / You must travel it for yourself ¨ (ll. 80-81). These lines from the poem say that everyone is unique. The poet uses the words must and yourself to help the audience understanding that only they can define who they are as an individual and not anyone else. Whitman's purpose in writing these 2 lines was to show the reader that while everyone is the same, they are also unique. Lastly, Whitman writes ¨ I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, / If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles ¨(ll.112-113). This piece of the poem indicates that he's giving himself to the earth. Whitman uses the word bequeath to help readers understand that he is dying and will come back again as part of the earth. Whitman is trying to say that there is life after death.