Jennifer for Nov 5
During this week’s readings, the reader delves more into Whitman’s dreams. It is as though Whitman is reminiscing the war. This is why this section is called the Songs of Parting.
“Of these years I sing,
How they pass and have pass’d through convuls’d pains, as
through parturitions,
How America illustrates birth, muscular youth, the promise,
the sure fulfillment, the absolute success, despite of
people-illustrates evil as well as good,
The vehement struggle so fierce for unity in one’s-self;
How many hold despairingly yet to the models departed,
caste, myths, obedience, compulsion, and to infidelity,
How few see the arrived models, the athletes, the Western
States, or see freedom or spirituality, or hold any faith in results,
How the great cities appear-how the Democratic masses,
turbulent, wilful, as I love them,
How the whirl , the contest, the wrestle of evil with good,
the sounding and resounding, keep on and on,
How America is the continent of glories, and of the triumph
of freedom and of the Democracies, and of the fruits of
society, and of all that is begun,” (600-601).
I chose these lines because it focuses on Whitman analyzing time. When he says “Of the years I sing” , he is going back in time thinking about everything that has happened to him personally. He speaks about all the struggles that are being overcome and all the difficulties he saw and sees America going through. Then Whitman goes on to say how not everyone can even get close to this “Western Freedom”. Beyond that, Whitman discusses the “results of the war”. He sees how slavery has ended and admires how the people of “democratic masses appear”. Then Whitman ends with just recognizing America as the country of peace and virtue and democratic integrity. From this one can sense that Whitman is finally seeing his dream beginning.
Then I chose lines from Song at Sunset because it is a song that Whitman sings for the left over battles that are yet to be won.
“I sing to the last equalities modern or old, …
O setting sun! though the times has come,
I still warble under you, if none else does, unmitigated
adoration”
I chose this because Whitman is coming to a close with his battles and he says that he will adore the sun and everything because he is at peace now. There he says” the time has come” so he leaves happily in for adoration because the civil war united the nation and people of color.
November 05 2009 02:52 pm | Uncategorized