Please click on the comments section to add your posts (for the discussion question writers) or to read the discussion questions for our class on Whitman.
(Photos: Whitman in 1854, at age 35, and in 1887, at age 68)
(Photos: Whitman in 1854, at age 35, and in 1887, at age 68)
Aislinn Cunningham asks...
ReplyDeleteHow does Whitman create the image of death in his poetry? What sort of specific images and symbols does he use to both describe and personify death? Moreover, how does his view of death relate to the general subtext of his poems?
If it helps: consider the historical context in which Whitman writes, and the general state of America during those times-- how might this provoke him to address certain subjects?
Think about the following passages:
(from "Song of Myself" stanza 6)
"The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,/And if ever there was it led forward to life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it,/ And ceas'd the moment life appear'd."
(from "When Lilacs Last..." stanza 14)
"Dark mother always gliding near with soft feet,/ Have none chanted for thee a chant of fullest welcome?/ Then I chant it for thee, I glorify thee above all,/ I bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come, come unfalteringly."
Megan O'Malley asks...
ReplyDeleteWhitman seems to see nature and city working together and finds scenes in workshops just as exhilirating as nature. Specifically in "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", he mixes imagery of nature and the urban environment. Why would this be signifigant, especially at the time he was writing?
Look at stanzas 11 and 12 to think more closely about this question.
Corinna Graham:
ReplyDeleteWhat, or who, is the "I" narrator that functions in both "When Lilacs Last..." and "Song of Myself?" What imagery does Whitman employ to make the "I" at once human and individual, yet simultaneously the identity of a nation? How does the "I" relate to nature (is it a part of nature, or something separate)?
Look to section 10 in "Lilacs" for how the "I" may function as America itself with a collective national grief while simultaneously embodying the specific grief of a poet, struggling to present a message of grief in their art.
Look at Section 1 of "Song of Myself" for how "I" is simultaneously a specific individual (37 years old, perfect health), while simultaneously an all-encompassing narrator ("every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you")
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ReplyDeleteTo what degree is "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" a psychologically troubled poem? In other words, what emotions is Whitman expressing in this poem that show feelings of isolation etc.? How can this poem be seen as a way of coping with a situation of and working towards a resolution?
ReplyDeleteLooks at stanza 2 which discusses "the Other," and stanza 6 in which Whitman seems to be talking about his relationships with others.
Also, how is time expressed in this poem?