"Cavalry Crossing a Ford" by Walt Whitman Flashcards

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1
Q

diction

A
  • whitman uses textually rich, but accessible diction that creates a common, yet beautiful scene
  • evidence: betwixt, serpentine, silvery river, splashing, loitering, a picture, guidon
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2
Q

structure

A
  • structure is varied, but most of the lines are enjambed and snake back and forth
  • assume that the author made diction and structure choices on purpose
  • we assume he did this to show what the cavalry looked like as they slithered across the river – like a snake
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3
Q

theme ex.

A
  • identity
  • whitman shows a group of men who afar off seem as one group, one face in a military column; however, the closer the group gets, the more they look less like a group and more like individual people
  • the closer we get to people, the more human they become
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4
Q

diction

A
  • “gaily” shows how the flags are fluttering freely in the wind
  • “illustration” because it shows just one moment in time and doesn’t tell a real story
  • accessible diction
  • “illustration” because it has no story
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5
Q

“they take a serpentine course.. hark to the musical clank”

A

enjambment

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6
Q

the speaker in this poem, structurally, seems to be __________ the action

A

far away from

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7
Q

how does the speaker describe men in this poem

A

brown-faced

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8
Q

the course traveled by the cavalry

A

serpentine

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9
Q

word choice

A

diction

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10
Q

this poem is best described as

A

a description of a moment in time

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11
Q

language

A

accessible

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