The Texture of the Sixth Poem of Song of Myself which dying is not what people make it out to be. Whitman, in many poems in this series, describes death as "fortunate" and beneficial. It also explains how death leads to the beginning of life in this poem. The tone at the very beginning of this poem seems a bit young. Especially when the question “What is weed?” is asked by a child. This first line gives you a great mental picture of a child, about five or six years old, walking up and innocently asking a question that you can't answer. Using the line, “Bring it to me with both hands full;” Whitman gives you this image right from the start. From there, he takes on this kind of naive tone, guessing what the weed means. In doing so, he shows himself to be mortal and not to know everything. Meanwhile in the poem he gives beautiful metaphorical images, comparing grass to other things and illustrating a better idea of what grass is. Also during this period of speculation, the wording becomes denser, as ideas become more complex. Whitman moves from the single-line “childish” voice to the adult stage of the poem. Here he becomes more sure of what grass is and guesses less. Around line 101, Whitman moves towards the turning point of the essay, describing the deadly aspect of grass. like “dark,” changes the mood of the poem to a slower, sadder state. In line 110, the poem suddenly changes and reads much more quickly. This turns into a sort of argument and Whitman speaks more affirmatively. Now it seems he has been enlightened and understands what weed is. The feeling of death turns into life and darkness turns into light. In a subtle way it gives the reader a feeling of lightness and life, because in the last four lines it starts all the lines with "A's" and as you read it. you get that choral “Hallelujah” feeling. Whitman shows you the light. He explains to you why death is a good thing. There is no more fear. "Dying is different than we thought, and/more fortunate.

Essay / The Texture of the Sixth Poem of Song of Myself which dying is not what people make it out to be. Whitman, in many poems in this series, describes death as "fortunate" and beneficial. It also explains how death leads to the beginning of life in this poem. The tone at the very beginning of this poem seems a bit young. Especially when the question “What is weed?” is asked by a child. This first line gives you a great mental picture of a child, about five or six years old, walking up and innocently asking a question that you can't answer. Using the line, “Bring it to me with both hands full;” Whitman gives you this image right from the start. From there, he takes on this kind of naive tone, guessing what the weed means. In doing so, he shows himself to be mortal and not to know everything. Meanwhile in the poem he gives beautiful metaphorical images, comparing grass to other things and illustrating a better idea of what grass is. Also during this period of speculation, the wording becomes denser, as ideas become more complex. Whitman moves from the single-line “childish” voice to the adult stage of the poem. Here he becomes more sure of what grass is and guesses less. Around line 101, Whitman moves towards the turning point of the essay, describing the deadly aspect of grass. like “dark,” changes the mood of the poem to a slower, sadder state. In line 110, the poem suddenly changes and reads much more quickly. This turns into a sort of argument and Whitman speaks more affirmatively. Now it seems he has been enlightened and understands what weed is. The feeling of death turns into life and darkness turns into light. In a subtle way it gives the reader a feeling of lightness and life, because in the last four lines it starts all the lines with "A's" and as you read it. you get that choral “Hallelujah” feeling. Whitman shows you the light. He explains to you why death is a good thing. There is no more fear. "Dying is different than we thought, and/more fortunate.

Navigation

« Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next »

Get In Touch