For the Bard of Democracy, as America came to call our great poet, music was a central metaphor in his life and work, both as a mindset and as a practical reality.” (Hampson) His musical poetry lyrically encompasses themes of social equality. Whitman enterprises a communion of persons while using the singer as a poet, lover, typical citizen, bard and a celebrator of the self to express such notions. Whitman discovers music in the daily lives of ordinary individuals and expresses it within his poetry. Especially in respect to the poems “Song of Myself,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and “I Hear America Singing,” Walt Whitman incorporates music as a vehicle to illustrate democratization. Whitman was a self educated New Yorker who began his literary career by satiating himself with classical reading and appreciating nature.
Released in 1966, this poem by Whitman is about American pride. He describes the citizens’ pride in work, and imagines them singing after work, and creates a vision of America being unified by song and hard work. In this poem, Whitman makes it seem that an average mason is as important as the president of The United States. This poem looks like it was made to encourage the people who work a lot, and those who hate their jobs
Many poets, writers, and composers heeded his call to not be afraid, take risks, and be open to the “Air [that] tastes good to [their] my palate.” (Song of Myself, 24) Poets and writers, D. H. Lawrence, William Carlos Williams, Hart Crane, Langston Hughes and Ezra Pound felt he was America’s poet. To understand America, they said, one had to read Whitman. (Poetry Foundation) Many 20th century composers honored his work by setting his poetry to their music: Ralph Vaughn Williams, Kurt Weill, and Leonard Bernstein to name a few. (American Composers
The poems “I Hear America Singing”, “One’s- Self I Sing”, and “America” reveal Whitman’s love of freedom through democracy as his source of inspiration which he conveys as good news for Americans to hear. In the poem “I Hear America Singing”, the freedom for one to pursue what he or she loves is made evident through Whitman’s writing. The struggle to reach for one’s dreams in Whitman’s lifetime was challenging and took a courageous person to break free of the expectations that were set for him/her. Whitman writes: “Those of mechanics, each one singing…/The carpenter singing his as he measures…/The boatman singing…in his boat…”(lines 2,3 &5). Whitman uses repetition as he starts each line with characters singing while working, which creates an emphasis on the word ‘singing’.
The narrative method utilized in the poem makes readers contemplate the challenges third world labourers go through and envisage their pain. The symbolism applied to the poem, puts emphasis in the tone and mood of the poem and effectively rouses readers to stop turning a blind eye to those in impoverishment. In conclusion, the poem ‘America’ successfully allows readers to be witnesses to Tony Hoagland’s passion for all that it means to live and ponder over what it truly means to be happy.
This constant pattern mirrors the speaker’s persistence as he proceeds with his demands for intimacy throughout the poem. The dramatic movement and specific poetic devices in this poem successfully help to shape Donne’s meanings and altering arguments. Through both “The Sunne Rising” and “The Flea”, the reader can see how Donne has ingeniously employed Dramatic contrasts to shape his meanings and accentuate his arguments. These Dramatic contrasts give the reader an enhanced feeling of place, time and what Donne is feeling. Through each startling juxtaposition, the readers’ attention is renewed and obtained, leading them to find out Donne’s intentions for the poem.
Robert Lee Frost The mark of a great poet is his ability to engage the reader so that they analyse their own lives. Robert Lee Frost (1874 – 1963) – an influential American poet often associated with rural New England – is brilliant at this and uses poetry as a platform for the expression of his own general ideology. Frost’s belief that human society was often chaotic and stressful and that the meaning of life is elusive, has been promoted in his poetry. Frost looked to nature, whose undying beauty and simplicity did not force him into a strict, moulded society, but represented freedom from life and its constant stresses of family and work as a metaphor to show the stark comparison. This ideology derives from Frost’s childhood – where strict rules and punishments were a normal occurrence.
He embraces diversity of geography, culture, work, sexuality, and beliefs. Whitman’s impact solidifies American dreams of independence, freedom, and fulfillment, and transforms them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman values hard work and being humble and non-egotistical. His ideals are things such as good health, soul, and the love of nature. Whitman expresses his celebration of working class democracy through the “varied carols” of men and women who take pride in their occupations in the poem “I Hear America Singing”.
kishia jones 12104 The voice of one person can send a profound sound into the hearts of people to help liberate one’s mind. That profound sound is seen through poetry. The creative structure and style of poetry creates a different form of writing that can either have rhythm, alliteration or have a direct message. In the poem “I Too Sing America”, by Langston Hughes had a significant message in that he desired to voice his expression on the issue of black oppression in America. Langston basic themes focused on the American Dream and the possibilities of hope and advancement were constantly present in his poetry.
With cataloging one is able to produce many detailed images repeatedly. Both Sandburg and Whitman show this characteristic in a number of works. The following is a poem by Walt Whitman that uses cataloging to show American at its best: I Hear America Singing American mouth-songs! Those of mechanics--each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves for work, The boatman singing what b... ... middle of paper ... ...d getting a sense of what Whitman and Sandburg are trying to do with their poetry it is much easier to understand the meanings of many of their poems. Although the majority of the poems are not as straight forward as these two are about the working class it is an underlying theme throughout most of their poetry.