Poetic Tools Describe Life in Walt Whitmans Song of...

Poetic Tools Describe Life in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself Walt Whitman is commonly known as the bard of America, a poet who wrote about the common man of the country as had never been done before. He was able to do so because he was a common man, as can be seen in lines such as This is the city and I am one of the citizens. Within his poetry he often used certain tools of the typical epic tale, borrowed from such tales as The Iliad, and The Odyssey. All of these tools can be seen within the lines of his lengthy poem of fifty-two sections Song of Myself. The first of these tools include an invocation of the muse, as can be seen in the lines I loafe and invite my soul, which appears to be an invocation of a muse, or his own†¦show more content†¦Perhaps this is Whitmans own way of saying to his audience pay attention, for although I am speaking of myself I speak for you too, so this is important, and applies to your life as well. Continuing on he claims to strip away what is known, and launch all men and women forward with me into the unknown. This statement serves as if to say to the audience forget what you know, and what you have been taught. I have something new and important to tell you, so open your mind and use your imagination. Whitman then describes the difference between a clock and eternity. For a clock can only count a moment, it has a very short span; however, it in no way can begin to encompass eternity for eternity is immeasurable. Using images of an endless stream of buckets rising from a reservoir continually providing us with time Whitman paints a picture of eternity, making it a tangible rather than intangible thing. He does what the clock is not able to do. While the clock is incapable of measuring eternity, he gives you an easy image to associate with eternity, making one able to grasp the concept of how expansive eternity really is. Continuing with the idea of the expansiveness of eternity Whitman gives examples of the trillions of wintersShow MoreRelatedThe Poetry of Walt Whitman versus Wi lliam Carlos Williams Essay1744 Words   |  7 PagesThe Poetry of Walt Whitman versus William Carlos Williams Perhaps the most basic and essential function of poetry is to evoke a particular response in the reader. The poet, desiring to convey on emotion or inspiration, uses the imagination to create a structure that will properly communicate his state of mind. In essence he is attempting to bring himself and the reader closer, to establish a relationship. William Carlos Williams contends that art gives the feeling of completionRead MoreVincent Willem Van Gogh And His Life2164 Words   |  9 Pagespaintings portrayed emotionally evocative style through the use of bold colors and later swirling brush strokes. Throughout his life van Gogh worked on his art while battling mental instability which lead to his death in 1890 as a result of a fatal, possibly self inflicted gun shot. His most famous and respected paintings were completed in the final two years of his life. Van Gogh began drawing at a young age and started painting during 1870. His work includes that of watercolor, drawings and sketchesRead MoreHow Fa Has the Use of English Language Enriched or Disrupted Life and Culture in Mauritius15928 Words   |  64 Pagesa horse-drawn carriage to several places, including a schoolyard, a field of wheat, and a house sunken in the ground. However, a deeper reading of the poem reveals the poet’s uncertainty of wh ether there is or is not an afterlife. The events she describes are of course fictional and unknowable, but the multiple changes in pacing of the poem, as well as the changing nature of the carriage (stationary and in motion), indicates the poet’s unwillingness to make a decision one way or another. AtRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 Pagesat the same table with him, and a fountain clerk in St. Louis refused to serve him a soft drink. He dealt with these slights the way he would his entire life: He turned away quietly. But Langston decided that instead of running away from the color line and hating himself for being black, like his father had, he would write about the real-life experiences of black people. He was determined to write stories about Negroes, so true that people in faraway lands would read them. James Langston Hughes