-[B]http://www.bartleby.com/142/86.html[/B] I read this for a Lit. class, and thought of a couple of questions to stimulate discussion. Whitman states that those before him and those who will supersede him will experience what he is now- both man-made and natural experiences. If he knows that those before him didn't have the man-made objects he observes, and that the future will bring further invention, why not only describe natural objects? (Whereas man-made objects will come and go, natural experiences tend to stick around.) Do you think Whitman is trying to create a dated poem, so that future readers can see his exact perspective? Or do you think he lacked the foresight to imagine how future inventions (such as the motorboat or plane) would impact the experience of crossing the same waterfront he is? Or maybe you have your own conclusion?
Okay, the link didn’t work for me, but I feel I must make a comment. A couple of years ago when I went on vacation I took a copy of Song of Myself to re-read after many years. That poem blows me away. Whitman is so attuned to everything and adept and connecting with the very essence of life. Consider the opening lines: I celebrate myself, and sing myself And what I assume you shall assume For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs to you. Right off the bat he is connecting with the reader. This poem tells the experience of his time, and as an historian I eat it up. The Yankee clipper is under her sky-sails, she cuts the sparkle and scud... I saw the marriage of the trapper in the open air in the far west, the bride was a red girl... The runaway slave came to my house and stopt outside... The mate stands braced in the whaleboat, lance and harpoon are ready... The groups of new-come immigrants cover the wharf or levee... It’s an unparalleled view of the society of his time. I also am enamored by his descriptions of nature and his spirituality. Section 11 is my favorite. Sort of racy.
Ah, sorry, correct link: http://www.bartleby.com/142/86.html I'm glad to see someone else knows something about Whitman. I was starting to think that the copywriters around here were all self-proclaimed, and lacked knowledge on the finer points of American literature/poetry. Although, I believe the poem you are referencing is "Song of Myself" I was analyzing "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"
Okay, I took a look at Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry. Once again Whitman is connecting with his subject describing those on the ferry- Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes! how curious you are to me! as well as connecting with me, the reader, although I won’t be born until a century later. What is it, then, between us? What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us? and later in the poem- I consider’d long and seriously of you before you were born All in all, I don’t think he has a futuristic outlook, but rather a cosmic sense. Compare his lines- Flow on, river! flow with the flood-tide, and ebb with the ebb-tide! Frolic on, crested and scallop-edg’d waves! Gorgeous clouds of the sun-set! drench with your splendor me, or the men and women generations after me with those of Tennyson in his poem The Brook- I chatter, chatter, as I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. Sort of the same theme of eternity, but Whitman is so hip he includes women! Whitman is just so deep, and what great nautical imagery. Now, please assure me that you are not trolling for responses for some current collegiate assignment. I’d be a kick-ass literature professor. Thanks for the spark!
Walt Whitman is truly one of the masters of his time and all time. I'm not a huge poetry guy, but his stuff is timeless.