"I Hear America Singing" causes me to want to join in.
Whitman's theme "sings" of how independent individuals collectively make this country great. His poem speaks of the industrious, hard working people who do their part to make the world better. People who are proud of their trade, "The carpenter, The mason, The boatman, The shoemaker" and others who "sing" because they have opportunity to work and contribute.
The rhythm, created through alliteration, which is the repetition of the initial consonant sounds of a sequence of words, such as in his use of "the" and "sing," which mirror the repetition of each workers action's as they do their work.
Whitman uses metaphors in the sounds and actions of laborers working, comparing them to music, "the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong."
To unite these varied people and trades, Whitman uses free verse to celebrate the freedom each citizen enjoys.
Using these tools, Whitman has crafted an anthem for which Americans are able to identify.
Your post makes me feel so patriotic. You really put a lot of emotion into it and I can feel your love of this country! Great post, thanks!
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting thing to write about. I feel like most of us are invigorated by poetry or words that immediately relate to ourselves. Or to how we feel and think. But you've stepped outside of a selfish passion, and talked about your love for an entire country. Way cool.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I thought of Captain America when I read the first part of your post. (Based on the movie...) Before he becomes Captain America, Steve Rogers wanted to become a soldier in WWII because he wanted to help his country and the people in it not because he wanted to fight.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I like that poem even better now... that each trade can be a source of pride, something that "belongs to him or her and to none else", yet at the same time the nation as a whole benefits from it and depends on it. And we get a full chorus.
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