Walter “Walt” Whitman was born in West Hills, NY. He was an american poet, essayist, and journalist. He was a part of transcendentalism and realism, and both views are shown in his works. Some of his work was inspired by Emerson, such as Leaves Of Grass, and A glimpse. Whitman published his own reviews of his poems, however, readers and critics at that time found his style of writing daunting and obscene.During the Civil War, Whitman worked as a clerk in Washington D.C. He visited soldiers during his spare time and took care of the injured for 3 years. With these experiences, he created a book of poems called "Drum Taps", and one of the poems was called "When Lilacs Last in The Dooryard Bloom'd", which was an elegy for Abraham Lincoln, In 1873, he suffered a stroke and moved back to Camden, New Jersey with his brother. He died of pneumonia in 1892.Although his poetry failed to collect attention from American readers in his lifetime, over a thousand people came to his funeral. Whitman's legacy lives on as a true American poet.
|
A GLIMPSE, through an interstice caught,
Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room, around the stove, late of a winter night--And I unremark'd seated in a corner; Of a youth who loves me, and whom I love, silently approaching, and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand; A long while, amid the noises of coming and going--of drinking and oath and smutty jest, There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word. |
In lines 1-4, he talks about him looking through the crowd to see his love. In lines 5-6, he separates himself from the crowd. The semi-colon of the line connects his need to be alone with, "Of a youth who loves me, and whom I love, silently approaching, and / seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand;" Now there's the romantic moment of holding hands. That silent approach. That admission of love. In lines 7-10, he is with his partner, and they are in love with each other. In lines 11-13, it shows how noisy the people are and how it is completely different to their situation. Lastly lines 14-16, the speaker shows that "there we two, content happy in being together, speaking little perhaps not a word". The silence is a recurring theme and it shows the contrast between the couple and the crowd.
|
Questions:
What is Walt Whitman's message in the poem? A: The message is that no matter the sexual orientation, it does not prevent someone from loving another person that has the same gender. How do you think the poem got its name? A: The poem got its name by the way the speaker is looking for his lover through the crowd, but there is also the reader. The workmen and the drivers are part of the scenery, but it is the reader viewing and interpreting this scene. What is the best way to describe the author's emotion when writing this poem? A: The way he wrote the poem and how he described himself when he was looking through the crowd shows how of an outsider and lonesome he was until he found another person inside the crowd that had the same personality as his and he quickly fell in love with him. What characteristics were shown in this poem? A: The only characteristic that is shown is loving. |
Links:
http://66298497-360209573535538839.preview.editmysite.com/uploads/6/6/2/9/66298497/_377097460.jpg
https://bobcb521.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/walt-whitman.jpg
Works cited:
N.p.: 2015 Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walt-whitman>
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-glimpse/>
http://66298497-360209573535538839.preview.editmysite.com/uploads/6/6/2/9/66298497/_377097460.jpg
https://bobcb521.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/walt-whitman.jpg
Works cited:
N.p.: 2015 Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walt-whitman>
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-glimpse/>