Walt Whitman

"O Me! O Life!" explores themes of existential despair and the search for meaning. Whitman uses rhetorical devices like apostrophe and repetition to emphasize the internal struggle and the ultimate...

Whitman's phrase "I am large, I contain multitudes" means embracing one's contradictions and complexities as a natural part of human identity. This idea relates to "The Toughest Indian in the World"...

Walt Whitman's "I Sit and Look Out" presents a somber reflection on the suffering and injustices observed in the world. The poem's theme revolves around the silent witness to human misery,...

The main figures of speech in "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman are metaphor and personification. The extended metaphor compares President Lincoln to a ship's captain and America to a ship...

Walt Whitman's poetic voice is characterized by its free verse style, expansive and inclusive tone, and use of cataloging and parallelism. His techniques often include vivid imagery, repetition, and...

In "I Hear America Singing," Whitman uses free verse, characterized by a lack of regular rhyme and meter, to convey a sense of freedom. The poem's tone is joyful and positive, celebrating the...

"A child said, What is the grass?" by Walt Whitman explores profound themes of life, death, and equality. Whitman reflects on a child's question about grass, interpreting it as the "uncut hair of...

The theme of Walt Whitman's "Miracles" is that all aspects of existence are inherently miraculous. Whitman emphasizes that every part of life, from honey-bees to the very fabric of space, is a...

Key themes in Walt Whitman's poetry, including "Song of Myself," are individuality, the interconnectedness of all life, democracy, and the human experience. Whitman celebrates the self and the...

One of the themes of “On The Beach at Night Alone” is the interlinking of every living thing in a vast cosmic whole. As the speaker walks upon the beach he muses how the stars, the fish, animals, and...

The overriding theme of Walt Whitman's poem “I Hear America Singing” is the dignity of work. In what is a highly romanticized view of work, Whitman looks beyond the mindless drudgery that affects...

The line "While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring" in Walt Whitman's "O Captain, My Captain" signifies the victorious return of a naval force. The "steady keel" refers to the...

"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman explores themes of loss and mourning, symbolized by the death of the ship's captain, representing President Abraham Lincoln. The poem conveys messages of...

The tone of "O Captain! My Captain!" shifts from exultation to despair, reflecting the speaker's transition from triumph to mourning. The mood mirrors this change, starting jubilant and ending...

Walt Whitman's poem "Gods" explores the concept of divinity in various forms. Whitman commands elements like an ideal man, death, mighty ideas, heroic deeds, time, space, and natural wonders to...

Whitman develops the theme of "There Was a Child Went Forth" through the poem’s structure and the imagery. The poem's organization corresponds to the phases of the child's life, and his changing...

Whitman and Dickinson both viewed death as a significant, transcendent event, but their perspectives differed. Whitman saw death as a continuation of life, an unexpected bonus, as expressed in "Song...

Whitman's quote can be understood in many ways, but the most common interpretation is that it is an expression of the poet's spiritual connection to all things, both the low and the high, the good...

Walt Whitman significantly contributed to American literature by revolutionizing poetry with his free verse style and themes celebrating democracy, individuality, and the human spirit. His seminal...

Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" explores the theme of war's disruptive and relentless call, reflecting the harsh realities of the Civil War. The poem's motifs include disruption,...

The speaker of “Had I the Choice” employs apostrophe, allusion, and personification to convey the idea that the beauty and poetry of one moment in nature is far preferable to the beauty and poetry of...

If Walt Whitman wrote "I Hear America Singing" today, he might maintain the poem's optimistic tone but include a more diverse range of professions, reflecting modern job specialization and gender...

Whitman's and Dickinson's poetry both explore themes of self and death, but Dickinson's work is more philosophical, while Whitman's is celebratory. Both poets use nature as a metaphor for human life,...

Walt Whitman's line, "For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you," implies the interconnectedness and universality of human experience. It suggests that all people share a common spirit...

In sections 6, 20, 46, 50, 51, and 52 of Leaves of Grass, Whitman employs various literary devices, including metaphor, simile, anthropomorphism, dialogue, monologue, syntactical inversion,...

Sections 12, 17, and 32 of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" explore different aspects of life and the self. Section 12 captures the beauty of ordinary life through images of a butcher boy and...

The tone of "O Captain! My Captain!" maintains a tension between exultation and melancholy throughout. In each stanza, celebratory language like "prize won" and "people all exulting" contrasts...

Emerson said in his famous essay "The Poet" that the thought of a poem should be passionate and alive and have an architecture of its own. Whitman took this advice literally and wrote poetry that...

In Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," he is describing the American identity, but in a very idealized sense. It is a vision of what the country should be, and not necessarily what it was or is....

In "Song of Myself," Whitman depicts various heroes, each embodying universal qualities. The steamship skipper shows resilience by rescuing a shipwrecked crew. The slave, enduring brutal oppression,...

"When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer," "O Captain! My Captain!," and "I Hear America Singing" by Whitman vary in theme and tone. "Astronomer" champions intuition over academia, "I Hear America...

The theme of Walt Whitman's poem "Reconciliation" centers on the beauty and necessity of reconciliation, particularly in the context of war. The speaker marvels at how death and time help erase the...

The speaker lists various types of workers to highlight the diversity and unity of America. Each worker's individual song represents their unique contribution, yet collectively, they form the...

Whitman's poetry reflects transcendentalism and American democracy by emphasizing the democratic impulse and the value of common people, as seen in poems like "I Hear America Singing." He celebrates...

In "I Hear America Singing," Walt Whitman uses the repeated phrase "singing" to celebrate the diverse occupations and contributions of American workers. The poem features repeated sentence patterns,...

Walt Whitman's poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" best exemplifies Romantic thinking by contrasting scientific analysis with personal, intuitive experience. The poem emphasizes the Romantic...

Whitman's quote from "Song of Myself" suggests that a teacher's true honor comes when students surpass them, reflecting the teacher's greatness. This idea is echoed in Julia Alvarez's "Daughter of...

In the beginning, the speaker introduces a child who is surrounded by images of natural peace and harmony. As the poem progresses, however, that child becomes a drunkard's son, who sees his father as...

Walt Whitman's use of repetition in his poems emphasizes key themes and emotions. In "I Hear America Singing," repetition highlights the diversity and vibrancy of American citizens. In "O Captain, My...

The prosodic meter used in Walt Whitman's poem "I Sit and Look Out" is free verse. It can also be considered a lyric poem. Although some lyric poems feature both rhyme and meter, Whitman's poem...

Walt Whitman remains a silent observer in "I Sit and Look Out" to avoid imposing judgments or interpretations on the suffering he describes. By not commenting or offering moral lessons, he allows...

Whitman's poem suggests life's direction as internal, with the steersman guiding the ship, symbolizing the soul's mission. Though separate entities, the steersman and boat are depicted as one,...

Whitman portrays the "self" as both an individual and part of the collective in "One's-Self I Sing," "I Hear America Singing," and "I Sing the Body Electric." He celebrates individual identity and...

The title "The Voice of The Rain" is justified as the poem personifies rain, allowing it to speak and explain its cycle of descending from the sky, nourishing the earth, and rising again. This...

Whitman celebrates the joy and wonder of life, expressing an appreciation for nature, health, and personal vitality. In "I celebrate myself, and sing myself," he embodies a spirit of...

"The Death of a Soldier" by Wallace Stevens uses a conversational style with short, blunt sentences, reflecting the inevitability of death as a natural, unremarkable event. The tone is not jaded...

Walt Whitman is considered "America's poet" due to his celebration of American diversity and democracy, as seen in poems like "I Hear America Singing." His work reflects a new vision of poetry that...

Each song is unique. They are all different, but they all contribute something to the "tapestry" of America.

The "desperate emergency" faced by the general in Whitman's "I Saw the Old General at Bay" is the encirclement of his forces, leading to a likely defeat. Despite this dire situation, volunteers...

Walt Whitman's poetry, such as "One's-Self I Sing," "I Hear America Singing," and "Song of Myself," celebrates democracy and freedom by highlighting the individuality and equality of all people...