Whitman

 

Walt Whitman

My Analysis:

Strangely, for me at least, the poetry in Whitman's book seems simplistic and ordinary. Diction is mostly colloquial and not elite. There are a few metaphors, but not to long, and his poem contains an allegory and similarly symbols. His poems are definitely different and fresh compared to the previous books we have read. His poems were for the most part easy to understand. However, the handwriting poses as an obstacle for the reader because the writing is sloppy and messy throughout the pages. I also cannot read cursive well, so that also contributed to my dilemma, but this was not to bad to read and understand overall. 

The pictures in the notebook are well drawn and one particular picture was interesting, the skeleton flying (picture is not loading or copying onto blog...). 

The pictures focus on the head, so particularly the emotions on the face. The body is relatively small and supposedly not as significant to draw. The pictures are of a man, maybe the character from the poem. They seem to illustrate the phases of different reactions of the man. He says, "I shall know whether there is anything in you", this makes me wonder Whitman's purpose of writing poems. I wonder if Whitman prefers to know the characters' inner thoughts than their actions. It also makes me question what kind of a man Whitman is as an author. 

New Observations:

Interestingly, Whitman seemed to admire Lincoln especially if he imagined conversations with him. "He may be suggesting that the ideal of liberty transcends and outlasts even the longest-lived political regimes." This supports the idea of probably why Whitman appreciated Lincoln. Whitman agreed with Lincoln and believed in liberty and to a certain extent equality. There is an unique version of viewing God. God having four sides, including Satan. That is something new and very weird for me to imagine. Largely due to this belief of God being a savior, so I don't view God having another side which Satan occupies. Religious feelings are often expressed during harsh times. People often doubt the existence of God or even distort the idea of religion. It seems like Whitman here has done something similar due to the profound effect of the arduous Civil War.

There are so many pictures in his notebook however they are not drawn by him. It seems that Whitman's physical appearance is strong by his broad frame and masculine by his height. His appearance did not seem to comply with his poetic nature as described by a sailor. He also like to have himself photographed like a celebrity; I wonder if he liked to show off. The last page serves as an enigma for everyone seemingly because it could either be a bizarre picture or it could adequately represent an allegory. If it is an allegory of America, then it sure is a weird one (lack of a better word) because of the contrasts present in the picture. All the pictures seem to be in a way realistic except the last one.