Walt Whitman Essay Sample
Walt Whitman Essay Sample - 1. For this assignment, I want you to pick two quotable quotes from vastly different sections of “Song of Myself” that show Whitman’s theme of democracy. Write out the quotes, give a brief explanation of the section they come from, and then explain why you find this quote notable and how it applies to the theme of democracy. Each quote should have at least six sentences of your own with them.
The Quote, “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” is in Section 1 of the poem. These are the lines introducing the poem “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman. In this quote, Whitman is celebrating his individual self. He does not do it in a self-centered way but also celebrates the greatness of every individual. He is celebrating his connection with other people. These individuals have the feeling of intense physical and spiritual connection with the rest of the world.
Another quote used in the poem is, “it is you talking just as much as myself…I act as the tongue of you.” This quote is in section 47 of the poem. In this quote, Whitman refers to the relation in thought of all men in all ages and land. He collects all the thought and puts them together and beautifully. He also goes ahead and speaks philosophically about the cycles of the earth. Alice Cooks writes of self in an individual and universal perspective. The “self” serves as an ideal which, unlike epic poetry of the past, this identify is one of the common people rather than an elevated hero
- For this assignment, consider the character Daisy Miller. In a paragraph of six or more sentences, answer the following question using evidence from the book. Does Daisy love Winterbourne? This question is rather subjective, but makes your answer objective by letting the text speak.
Daisy does not love Winterbourne. We can see this in the discussion Daisy has with Winterbourne on the incident in the park. Winterbourne expresses his distaste for advances Giovanelli makes on her. Daisy defends him. Even as Winterbourne goes ahead and calls her a flirt, she accepts and further emphasizes that her relation with Giovanelli is intimate. When Winterbourne talks of their love, Daisy takes it personal and takes offense. Giovanelli shortly arrives to take her to get some tea.
After the party, Winterbourne makes frequent visits to Daisy’s home in the absence of her parents. In most occasions, he finds Daisy with Giovanelli. This annoys winterbourne. In another occasion, Winterbourne meets Daisy with Giovanelli in the park. He decides to tell her what other people were saying of her concerning her relationship with Giovanelli. He also mentions to her that her mother feels like she is engaged to Giovanelli. Daisy agrees with the statement, and Winterbourne starts laughing. He goes ahead and asks if Randolph believes it. Daisy replies that Randolph does not believe anything, and she says she is engaged. This makes Winterbourne stop laughing. This move shows that daisy does not love Winterbourne and does not care of what he feels.
- For this assignment, I want you to answer the below question on the discussion board and respond to someone else’s post.
First, I want you to either write down a definition for what makes a poem or a list of qualities that poems have. Basically, I want you to write down what makes a poem a poem. This will be the first part of your entry.
Characteristics of a good Poem
- A good poem is written well with a concise and accurate language. An advantage of poetry is that it uses few words as it encapsulates many ideas.
- A good poem has a defined purpose. One writes it with a specific idea in mind, to recreate feelings, to describe a story, capturing a moment in life, or painting a picture.
- A good poem makes a reader move out off t he ordinary self and gives one an illumining reality.
- A good poem engages the heart of a reader. It is more than mere intellectual cleverness.
- A good poem offers hope from a painful experience. Many poets deal with the individual fear for death through poetry. They make the poem offer an alternative to pessimism that can pervade man. Poetry also takes its inspiration from nature. Nature is all round and a poet is able to capture its essence in the written word bringing appreciation for nature.
- Poetry seeks to satisfy the heart. One cannot fake good poetry. Hence the saying, “A poet is born not made.” Whether this is true or not writing poetry is not like learning to write by rote.
- A good poem is one that an individual can identify with. A poem should be able t articulate the inner feeling of an individual. Such a poem also gives one a vision of a better future.
- A good poem also employs the various poetic languages. Similes, metaphors, and personification.
- A good poem uses different poetic devices such as rhythm, repetitions, alliteration. It uses line breaks and punctuation effectively.
- For the second part of your entry, I want you to decide whether the below work is a poem based upon your definition. After deciding yes or no, defend your answer with at least six sentences.
If your last name begins with A-L, then analyze the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.”
If your last name begins with M-Z, then analyze the poem “This Is Just to Say.”
The poem, “This Is Just to Say” is an example of a good poem. It has three stanzas; each stanza has four short lines. Each line has a maximum of three words. In the first stanza, the narrator states that he has eaten plums that were in the icebox. In the second stanza, the narrator states that the reader of the note was possibly saving the plums for breakfast. In the first line of the third and last stanza, the narrator seeks forgiveness and then expresses his delight in the plums. In other words, “This is Just to Say” is a perfect love poem. Williams is sorry for taking the plums because it is not what his wife planned to do with them, and because he did not want to experience them alone. The poem attempts to make up for this by sharing the pleasure through words. Though he and the plums are gone when she reads the note, she knows that the marriage is precious to him.
- Lastly, after posting your response to the above, I want you to reply to someone who wrote on the poem you did not. You can agree, disagree, add to, or subtract from what they have said, but put some thought and time into your response. Your response will be part of your grade for this assignment.
There are various poetic devices used in the poem, “This Is Just to Say.” The use of the consonant “Th” and “F” in several lines creates rhythm in the poem when read aloud. A conspicuous lack of punctuation contributes to the poem’s tonal ambiguity. The second stanza commences with a conjunction stating the connection that exists with the first stanza. The third stanza is separated from the first two by the capitalized “Forgive.” Additionally, the typographical structure of the poem influences subsequent interpretations on the part of the reader.
- For this assignment, I want you to post two “quotable quotes” from “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” on our discussion board and defend why they are the two best quotes to pick from the story. These quotes may help define a character, show Hemingway’s unique writing style, or help forward a theme from the piece. For each quote, please give about a six-sentence defense.
The quote, “Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Maasai ‘Ngaje Ngai’, the House of God. Close to the western summit, there is a dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.”
“The Slopes of Kilimanjaro,” states that Hemingway well expresses the feelings of Harry since both of them fear death an in the event of unfinished tasks. Similarly, in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” Harry is constantly facing death. In an effort to express his ideas and feelings, he chooses flashbacks, which to him are very real moments.
Another quote used in the poem is, “For her everything was red, orange, gold-red from the sun on the closed eyes, and it all was that color, all of it, the filling, the possessing, the having, all of that color, all in a blindness of that color.”
Hemingway greatly influenced the American poets with his unique writing styles. He used simple nouns and verbs and still captured the scenes properly. He provided detached descriptions of action in that he avoided giving descriptions of his thoughts and emotions of his characters directly.
In addition to his feelings on mortality, another influence is Hemingway’s history with women. Hemingway married severally, and always directing the bitter feelings to the women in his stories. By comparison, Harry is very bitter towards the woman, his companion on the wild African Safari. He demonstrates his bitterness in the comments he makes towards her like “you bitch, you rich bitch” and “she shot very well this good, this rich bitch, this kindly caretaker and destroyer of his talent.” Harry, an aspiring writer, came to realize in his dying all that he had not accomplished much. He began to blame others for his awaiting death and for his shortcomings.
- For this assignment, I want you choose any Brooks poem you read that you found interesting, intriguing, or somehow notable to use with a discussion board entry. First, identify the poem. Then, note what it is about the poem that strikes you. Lastly, like a good English nerd, show how she fits in with other writers we have read over the course of the semester. This entry will need to be at least eight sentences in length, but it can be longer.
“My Dreams My Works Must Wait Till After Hell” by Gwendolyn Brooks.
In this poem, the narrator puts everything on hold deliberately. This is to give herself room to endure all. In the second stanza, she is hungry for pursuing her dreams and feels incomplete in the absence of her work. She wants to get back to her work, but the doctor bars her from doing so. She maintains her attitude of hoping for the end of the hard times. In the last stanza, she is happy. She is able to resume work though, with the physical scope, the illness has left her. She has hope and inspirations of succeeding. She wants to go home and hopes her personality and life’s perspective will not be a barrier. She also works hard to maintain loving her old self.
Like other writers, Gwendolyn Brooks aims at making her readers feel the poem and be able to make personal judgments from the poem. She frequently attends seminars to boost her writing skills. Her interests focus on nurturing black literature.
