LITR 4232 American Renaissance

LITR 4232 2008 final exam

copy of final exam

Essay Answers to Question 3: Dickinson and Whitman. 

Faron Samford

A Comparison of the Styles of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson

            Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are two of the most well respected American poets from the American Renaissance.  Whitman and Dickinson both have an easily recognizable style that can be seen in their poems.  It is through a recognition of their individual styles that it is clear that “I Sit and Look Out” was written by Whitman, and “These are the Days When Birds Come Back” was written by Dickinson.

            I Sit is a poem that contains many of the poetic conventions that are characteristic of Whitman’s works.  Like most of Whitman’s other poetry, it is written in free verse and contains three stylistic elements that are typical of a Whitman poem; the long line, parallelism, and a catalog.  The structure of each line does not contain regular rhyme and meter, but makes use of the long line, where each line of the poem is more of a reflection of a single thought or breath.  For example; “I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame” is a complete thought that would be said in one breath and is used as the opening line of the poem.  The poetry of Whitman, like this one, does not often lean heavily on any type of rhyme scheme. 

The repetition of the same phrases or words at the beginning of each line, or anaphora, is another typical characteristic of Whitman’s poetry.  In the example I Sit, the first eight lines of the poem all begin with the word “I,” followed by a verb indication some type of perception.  This repetition helps to drive home the idea that the speaker is speaking of how he perceives the world around him.  Whitman uses a dynamic where in his poetry he tends to focus on the individuals and their collection as a whole forming society. 

Cataloguing is another poetic convention frequently used by Whitman in his poetry.  According to the Whitman style sheet, a catalogue in the poetic sense is “a list of names, titles, or articles arranged methodically.”  In this particular piece, line 8, “I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like,” fits the definition of cataloguing excellently.  Whitman lists these people in the descending order of class as they are viewed by the upper class, as if delving deeper into the problem with each example that comes. 

            Viewing the style used in the poem, it is clear that “I Sit” was written by Walt Whitman.  A look at the style of “Days” shows that it is clearly not the work of Whitman, but jumps off the page as a work of Emily Dickinson’s. 

            The structure of “Days” is more like that of traditional poetry than Whitman’s free verse.  Yet she does not completely give in to poetic convention.  The first two stanzas of the poem do not contain the rhyme scheme that is evident in the remaining four stanzas.  The final four stanzas begin with a rhyming couplet, while the first two follow the same visual form, yet do not contain the same rhyme scheme. 

            The subject matter of “Days” is more representative of that covered by Dickinson in her poetry.  While “I Sit” is focusing more on attributes and feelings of how the individuals in society relate to each other, “Days” is more metaphorical and reflects on the life journey and relating it to nature as a symbol of the spirit, a characteristic of Dickinson’s pointed out by the style sheet. 

            Using the season of autumn when the winter has not completely set in firmly but there are still days that remind one of summer.  This metaphor for the latter years of human life, where the memories of being at the peak of condition are behind, yet can resurface occasionally for a short period and a brief burst, is typical of Dickinson’s questioning the life journey and our inevitable march toward death.

            While Whitman and Dickinson are considered two of America’s greatest poets, they accomplished this feat by taking different approaches and using their individual styles to continue influencing future poets, American and of other countries.

Bethany Roachell

Deciphering by Style

            Of the two poems given I could easily pick out that the first one was Whitman’s and the second Dickinson’s just by the arrangement. Upon reading each poem my first thought was backed by the style predominately used by each poet.
            Looking at the first poem which is Whitman’s a few things appeared which can be seen with many of his work. It is a free verse poem, which Whitman is known for. There’s no true meter but the words flow into speech, the lines break naturally instead of rhythmically. Because of this, the poem does not feel awkward when spoken but pleasant.  Another aspect of his poem that is common is the parallelism he uses. “I see” and “I observe” appearing at the beginning of many lines but the use of “I” even at the beginning of every line but the last two. This helps emphasize what Whitman is saying. The repetition drives home the importance. Also, the poem is a catalogue of what Whitman is experiencing as he “sit[s] and look[s] out”; this poem is a list of what he is taking in. Compared to other works of Whitman, “I Sit and Look Out” is rather short. While Whitman can be wordy from time to time, this one is short and to the point, only showing us what he himself sees.
            The second poem, because it is not only short but structured tightly, is most definitely Dickinson’s.  The multitude of dashes found throughout the poem is also a technique Dickinson is known for, the dashes placed in precise places for us to take a pause when she wants us to, not where we see fit. Her rhymes are not true in most stanzas of her poem—most being slant rhymes. However, it is most definitely structured in an AAB CCB format. The first two lines of every stanza rhyme and the last line of coupled stanzas (first two, middle two, last two) rhyme with the last line of the next stanza. Unlike Dickinson’s usual poetry, there is preeminence of death around each corner of her writing; the last line even promising immortality—or at least the possibility of it. This poem also seems lighter than her other work. There are no paradoxical combinations, sudden shifts of identity or synesthesia. However, the importance of each word radiates in her stanzas and the religious undertone cannot be mistaken.
            Both poems are a style of lyric poetry. They deal with personal feelings albeit unresolved. Although Whitman’s poem tends to slip out of the category because the meter is not presently available outside the breaths we take. The poems together give us two great examples of how poetry differs from one writer to the other. Not only can the style used differ but the wordplay, the structure, the subject and how the subject is approached. The experience is different as well, in regards to Whitman and Dickinson. Reading Whitman’s poetry is like sitting next to him and looking out the same window alongside him. Reading Dickinson’s poetry is like going through the entire experience with her. We gain variety with each poet, which is part of the fun with poetry.