Journal fav Whitman Poem

My favorite Walt Whitman poem is definitely "O Captain, My Captain" because it makes so much sense to me and I love history. The whole story about the death of Abraham Lincoln and making him the captain of the ship and having all these loyal crew members mourn the death of their leader but celebrate all the things he accomplished. They talk highly of their leader and that is something I think is important no matter what Lincoln decided these men were willing to follow him to the end. "O Captain, My Captain" is the first big poem we studied as kids and it made so much then and now every time I read it I pick up on different things and new ways to interrupt it than just the story of the President Lincoln's death, but also the end of war and the coming together of the nation. Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents and this is why we study him and Walt Whitman wrote some of great poetry some of it not appropriate for school but what we do study is important. "O Captain! My Captain!" contains some great lines of poetry that express the feeling of a nation both in celebration and also in mourning. The African Americans were still slaves before Lincoln took control and we can even interrupt that Lincoln is the Messiah and leads the slaves to freedom and this makes him an American hero. I like when poetry has a story and is not just a bunch of feeling but it is also important that the story has feeling and makes the reader enjoy the story. "O Captain My Captain" contains this feeling of the country and it tells a story straight forward at first but then if you read it again you could pick up a different story line about it. This is why my favorite poem from Walt Whitman is "O Captain My Captain".

"O Captain! My Captain!, by Walt Whitman." Poetry Archive. Web. 17 April. 2012.

Chanting the Square Deific Reflection

Walt Whitman was deeply involved in his idea of self and want his role in life was. Walt Whitman explored this spirituality and beliefs through out his life trying to find his "self". When Whitman talks of self he is looking beneath what a person does or how they act but what their true values are. In "Chanting the Square Deific." Whitman explores his religion to help guide him to find his self.

Walt Whitman deeply believes in the idea of self and this searching for his self drives his poems and gives meaning to them. Whitman's struggle to find his self is exposing the true person that he is and not the person he pretends to be or who others think he is. Whitman divides his poem into four parts which is part of Whitman's self. "Chanting the Square Deific" is divided into this four part to describe the different parts of his Holy Trinity instead of three he has four. Each part of this poem is told from the point of view of the speaker who is a part of Whitman's quaternity. Walt Whitman's quaternity is made up of God, Christ, Satan, and the Soul (Oliver). Each of these speakers present a part of Whitman's "Square Deific".

God was a first speaker and he influences Whitman's idea's about mercy and the importance of doing things right. "Relentless I forgive no man- whoever sins dies- I will have that man's life"( Whitman). Whitman is saying that God does not have to show mercy because he is God and this puts him on a level equal or higher than Jehovah, Brahm, and Saturnius. They did want they pleased because they were on top and showed no mercy. They ruled their lands with an iron fist and this is what Whitman believed was important in life and to his own. While God was the first speaker the next speaker is Christ the only son of God.

Christ is the second part of Whitman's square deific and is the more comforting than God. "And my sweet love bequeath'd here and elsewhere never dies" (Whitman). God becomes the more loving and comforting person that Whitman wants to become. He wants to help through their struggles and help them find peace in their lives. Christ was the son of God and he gave his life to save people from sin by dying for sin. Walt Whitman quotes this part of Christ's death because it is something that he admires and wants to work harder to do. "All the world have I given up for my dear brothers' and sisters' sake, for the soul's sake," (Whitman). Whitman does not plan on dying on a cross for people but he wants to become a better man by helping his friends and the people around him. The third piece of the Whitman's square deific is Satan who represents the darkness in everyone.

"Satan is opposite God in the Square Deific, creating, Whitman may be suggesting here, a balance between good and evil, both necessary, he believed, in the lives of human beings and in all of Nature"(Oliver). In Whitman's idea of life and self he knows that everyone has two sides a good and a bad side. The comparison between God and Satan is taking what Whitman believes to me in everyone just in two different people. He sees God as light and Satan as the darkness. "Permanent here from my side, warlike, equal with any, real as any, Nor time nor change shall ever change me or my words"(Whitman). Satan is stuck in his awful position as being a bad guy and not being able to get a new reputation and Whitman does not like the idea of judging people by their appearances or by what factors other than their true character and morals. Whitman sees Satan as a trapped soul who may want to redeem himself but has not been given the chance to do so. Believing in people's ability to change is something that Whitman believes to be important but wants the change to be truly from the spirit and not just the outside.

The fourth part of the square deific is the spirit and the spirit is an abstract idea that is never seen but controls a lot of stuff and unites the universe and brings people together. The spirit is within everyone and this spirit brings people together and makes everyone a person who is unique in their own ways but are all related to each other by the spirit.

The square deific is something that Walt Whitman continued to explore and also evolves over the years. He eventually finds his self and it becomes his spirit. The last line of his poem suggest that he represents the spirit and he does. Everyone represents their spirit and this element that makes everyone the same also is the thing that makes them different.

Oliver, Charles M. "'Chanting the Square Deific'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

"The Walt Whitman Archive." CHANTING THE SQUARE DEIFIC. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892]) -. Web. 03 Apr. 2012.

Journal 29

Defining yourself is one of the hardest things to do because describing yourself is something that we find very hard. It is a fair question that stubs people and no one really does who they are because the question who are you asked who you are on the inside and not what you do. Who am I is hard to answer without giving the person that asks you the things that you do. I am unsure how to describe myself without saying what I do because what I do makes up part of me and gives me ideas of what to do. Soccer and swimming are things I enjoy to do but they do not describe me or tell who I am. I have a job and family and friends and all of these people and things make up the things I do and the beliefs I have. I believe in strong family values and being close to them. I love my family and they are the most important people in the world to me. I believe in God which also describes me and shows that I believe that religion is important and that having a belief in something is important. If you do not believe in anything then you have nothing to believe in or strive to do. I believe that everyone has a role to play in the world and to succeed is one of the most important things in life. I hope to succeed in life and if I fail I hope to learn from my mistakes and rise above the fail to become an even better person. Hard work is something that I strongly believe in and if you want to be a better person you have to work for it. I lifeguard at the YMCA and banquet serve which allows me to work hard and this is something that I hope to continue working towards. To have everything you want you have to work life is not full of handouts and to accomplish anything you must work hard and get an education.

Co-op Reflection

Emily Dickinson uses a lot of themes in her poem "Nature the Gentlest Mother" such as the beauty of nature and personification comparing it to a mother. A mother is a caring person and makes sure that everyone is okay, such as nature. In a way, nature is like a mother with how it takes care of the world. She takes care of the squirrels, trees, and other animals. She compares mother nature as being patient. In her first line she writes "Nature, the gentlest mother, impatient of no child, the feeblest or the waywardest, her admonition mild" (Dickinson). This quote from Emily Dickinson shows the gentle and patient side of nature, but also that mother nature can be cruel. Emily Dickinson loves nature and enjoys nature and loves nature, which is why most of her poems are about nature. You can start hearing the crickets by the words that she uses. She gives to the animals around her and prays for them, just like a real mother would. At night, she made sure that all the animals had a place to sleep. In Emily Dickinson's poem, she writes "with infinite affection, and infinite care, her golden finger on her lip, will silence everywhere" (Dickinson). This part of the poem talks about her control over everything and how at night she can silence the whole place. Everyone is at peace and ready for their night. We call nature a mother because it nourishes people. We can get everything we need from nature, just like we should with a mother figure. Nature gives everyone a chance to survive in life. Your mother is also supposed to give you a chance in life and prepare you for the real world. Both nature and a mother give you the best that they can out of what they have. She also adds some imagery in the form of sight. For example, the forest and the hill show us imagery. Another example is the nature restraining the rampant squirrel from the traveler. Nature protects us, such as the scenario with the squirrel. When nature is mad or upset, it brings storms and natural disasters. When a mother is upset, it feels like a natural disaster. You can tell she is upset when she slams things down or talks with attitude.
In Emily Dickinson's poetry, she talks about the most unworthy flower. She mentions how it does not deserve a good life, but she is still going to help it live. This is the same with a real parent. When a parent's child does something wrong, they still love them and give them a good life. They try to do the best that they can and try to change them for the better. Her golden finger also shows imagery. You can see the finger on her lips. The color gold symbolizes royalty and higher power, like mother nature. Mother nature is royalty and above all.
Emily DIckinson's poem truly embodies the thought, or idea, of comparing nature to a mother and makes a lot of sense of why we call nature a mother nature.
Dickinson, Emily. "1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .

Journal 28

Throughout Emily Dickinson's life she lived near a cemetery and this influenced some of her poems and the themes of them. Most of the poems go around the central theme of nature, death, and other natural ideas. She discusses the fly and uses the fly as a thing to show the length of time the body could have been suffering. Death to Emily Dickinson is something that is scary and it involves suffering. This person in the poem is probably dying and the fly is just waiting for them to die so that he can eat parts of the body. The last line talks about everything going black and that this is truly the end of the person's life and the end to the quiet lonely suffering that they are going through. The fly also interrupts the end of the Emily Dickinson's death and this is tragic she wants to die alone and not have to worry about anything interrupting the peace of death. The cemetery is a peaceful place that is always old looking and quiet and that is something that Emily Dickinson could see from her house. Emily Dickinson probably imagined death as a peaceful and quiet thing, but instead her death is interrupted by this annoying fly. " I heard a fly buzz when I died" is the poem that is somewhat Emily Dickinson's idea of death but the interrupted death by this stupid fly. The fly could interrupt the movement of the soul and send her down and maybe not allow her into Heaven. The fly may symbolize the devil and that he is taking her soul away from the grace of Heaven. The quietness of death is the peaceful passing that may be taken away from the people with the sound of the fly buzzing during their final breathes. Emily Dickinson believes that death should be quiet and peaceful and still. Death is a natural part of life and it can not be avoided but should be a simple end that does not hurt.

Journal 27

Emily Dickinson wrote many of her poems to the tune of "Amazing Grace" and other hymns this is very significant because this shows that she was spiritual and not just an isolate crazy lady. The spiritual songs that she choose and having them fit with her poems of the nature and the connection of the Earth and the beauty in nature. The songs talk about the beauty of things in nature and how things can be better. Emily Dickinson believed in the spiritual world but not in human nature. She was Christian and this is another factor that contributed to the use of "Amazing Grace" and other spiritually related songs. Emily Dickinson lived her life more for the spiritual angle of life and not so much among the rest of the human world. She did not like the real world because they were full of opinions and were not the best people in the world. Emily Dickinson liked the purity of religion but she also questioned some of her beliefs. The nice part of Emily Dickinson's poems having a song to go along with them is that it makes the song more easily to relate and speak later on. Emily Dickinson struggled with her views and this influenced some of her poems and the ideas that she expressed to help her understand her opinions and get her feelings out. Emily Dickinson worked hard on her poetry and made them fit the songs, which is extremely hard working and showed that the song was important to her and she would not have worked so hard to fit the poem to a song if it was not important. Emily Dickinson struggled with beliefs and religion is a hard subject to understand because it is based on faith and not real things. The struggle with religion is one of the hardest decisions and idea that people struggle with. Emily Dickinson discusses this idea of religion in her poetry and her unsure thoughts on religion.

Walt Whitman writing style

Walt Whitman was a in tweener in the writing world because he was both a Realism writer and a modernism writer, which made his writing hard to classify. Walt Whitman was strongly influence by nature and the power of the world. This love of nature is something that relates to the realism period and also the romanticism period because of the great detail and descriptions. “O powerful, western, fallen star! O shades of night! O moody, tearful night! O great star disappear’d! O the black murk that hides the star. O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me! O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul!" ( http://www.everypoet.com). This is a descriptive element that falls into the realism period and also back in to the romanticism where describing the beauty in nature was very important. Walt Whitman uses realism writing in his poem "O Captain, My Captain" because it tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's death and the end of war. In "O Captain, My Captain" Whitman describes the reactions of the people after the war and the sadness he feels for the death of their leader, captain. "O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting," (Whitman). Whitman wrote several pieces of literature about the assassination of President Lincoln and the end of the Civil War because that is what he was knew. As a realism writer he wrote the truth and the truth of the that time was they had won the war and slavery was over. The assassination of Lincoln of course provoked a flood of writing—journalistic, biographical, poetic. Of the many poems then written,Whitman's memorials have lasted the best; and in considering what values they select, enact, and perpetuate, I want to ask by what aesthetic means they make those values last beyond the momentary topical excitement of Lincoln's death (Vendler).

Whitman's fascination with the death of his leader influenced much of his writing and also had some modernism parts to them. Modernism was shaped by discoveries in science and advancements in technology and various fields of thought that began to develop in the nineteenth century (Anderson). Whitman discussed modernism in Leaves of Grass "Victory, union, faith, identity, time, The indissoluble compacts, riches, mystery, Eternal progress, the kosmos, and the modern reports. This then is life,”(Anderson). The modernism writing of the kosmos and the modern report are a part of this modern style they were new forms of technology and advancements in the country. We can also say that the Civil War was a part of the modernism writing in that the slaves became free and this was an advancement for them. Walt Whitman was a very creative writer and he fits into many of the different genres and styles of American writing from writing in the Romanticism period to the Modernism period. Walt Whitman was extreme inspiring and loved his country and this is seen by all of the poems about his country such as my favorite "O Captain, My Captain".

"O Captain! My Captain!, by Walt Whitman." Poetry Archive. Web. 09 Mar. 2012.

Archive of Classic Poems." Poetry of Walt Whitman; Full-text Poems of Walt Whitman, including Leaves of Grass, at Everypoet.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .

Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Vendler, Helen. "Poetry and the Mediation of Value: Whitman on Lincoln." Michigan Quarterly Review 39 (Winter 2000): 1–18. Quoted as "Poetry and the Mediation of Value: Whitman on Lincoln" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Walt Whitman, Updated Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.