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(2018
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2018 #2a: Short Essay (Passage) (index) |
LITR 4328 |
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Kyle W. Abshire
The
spiritual electrifies the physical body
“The
expression of the face balks account, / But the expression of a well-made man
appears not only in his face,
/ It is in his limbs and joints also, it is curiously in
the joints of his hips and wrists, / It is in his walk, the carriage of his
neck, the flex of his waist and knees, dress does not hide him, / The strong
sweet quality he has strikes through the cotton and broadcloth, To see him pass
conveys as much as the best poem, perhaps more, / You linger to see his back,
and the back of his neck and shoulder-side. (Whitman 2).
Whitman’s, I Sing the Body Electric attempts to explain the true beauty
of men and women. The sublime style in which he writes, gives us a feeling of
inexpressible beauty. It is as though Whitman is trying to explain something
that he cannot describe, using vocabulary far too small to express an idea that
is far too large. This excerpt from the poem specifically talks about a person
and the way in which they express themselves to the world, but Whitman’s use of
the sublime, implies that beauty is dependent on so much more than that.
Whitman is incredibly focused on the appearance of the person but insist that
his appearance is not based on the person’s looks alone. They are dependent on
many more factors than simple physical beauty. “The expression of the face balks
account, / But the expression of a well-made man appears not only in his face
(Whitman 2). The man’s expression, in Whitman’s account, is far too beautiful to
express. However, the man’s expression is only part of his beauty. The sublime
way that Whitman explains how insurmountable the man’s beauty is, not only
creates a strong image but elevates his beauty to that of an ethereal state. One
not reachable with physical standards and understanding.
Whitman’s determination to explain what beauty really is, drives him to comment
on commonly overlooked aspect of a person. “It is in his limbs and joints also,
it is curiously in the joints of his hips and wrists, / It is in his walk, the
carriage of his neck, the flex of his waist and knees (Whitman 2). Movement is
described by Whitman as beautiful. The way that he comments on man’s movements,
is commonly reserved for spectators of sport, describing how one’s movements
destines them for athletic greatness. The way in which he moves, derives a
powerful image. One’s physical beauty is often un-changeable, some are
beautiful, and some are not. However, movement comes from something deeper. The
way in which we move is based on our individual styles, and how we manifest
those inner-thoughts. How we move through the world determines so much more than
just where we go, but also how we get there.
This passage from I Sing the Body Electric and Whitman’s use of the
sublime can teach us a lot about its intention. The sublime is not simply an
over embellishment of the physical world, made to sound more attracting than it
really is. Sublime language elevates the object beyond our ability to comprehend
or explain. Sublime words, as in Whitman’s I Sing the Body Electric work
to explain, unexplainable things. We are thrust into a reality unlike the one we
live in, through Whitman’s words. A spiritual world, where everything has a
deeper and broader meaning.
