Walt Whitman Flashcards
Key themes of song of myself
identity
visions of America
friendship
children
What form does Whitman use
critical debate on exact form employed
come to be known as free verse
What is the poets subject
himself- but it is clear that he means more than just his physical self
How did the poem gain the title song of myself
did not gain this title until 1881 going through various permiations that include poem of walt whitman an american , walt whitman and myself
what kind of impact did the civil war have on the poet
brutally shocked him as his deeply held beliefs about humanity were being challenged and compromised on the battlefield
How did song of myself challenge conventional poetic decorum even at eye level
formal punctuation is kept to a minimum
stanzas varied widley in length
no system of names or numbers to organise the poem
how many different sets of revisions and additions did the poem go through
10 between 1855 and 1892
where does the poets charm reside in
his love for his people and his desire to include all Americans
why were many of whitmans readers shocked by the seemingly autobiographical content of song of myself
for a poet to write so explicitly about himself was not only unfashionable but unheard of - interesting as poetry often seen as a vehicle to explore the self
What did John Berryman say of the poem in 1957
The greatest poem so far written by an american
What do most of the lines consist of
nouns and participles with few regular declarative verbs- american sublime?
How does the poem open
by inviting the reader to embrace him
What was Whitman’s poetical style like to begin with
he began writing uninspired conventional poetry in 1840’s then towards the early 1850 he utterly abandoned convention and started creating original poems
What has the literary historian Becky Erkkila said about song of myself
the drama of identity in song of myself is rooted in the political drama of a nation in crisis
central issue of 1850 was slavery
What is arguably once of the most famous images in the poem
the 29th bather
