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Transcript

Transcendentalist Poetry Project

Courtney Desir'ee Williams

6th block PDP English

project

Transcendentalism

What poem did I chose?

The poem that I chose for this project was, "In Midnight Sleep," by Walt Whitman

tran·scen·den·tal·ism

noun

an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures.

Citations

Walt Whitman

1819–1892

Image:

https://www.awesomestories.com/images/user/49ed77ba44.jpg.

Poem:

Whitman, W. In Midnight Sleep.

http://www.bartleby.com/142/188.html

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works.

Article:

Silverman, R. (December 12, 2014) Walt Whitman News. New York Times. Retrieved: 2/20/15

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/walt_whitman/index.html

Courtney Williams

other important information

  • Born: May 31, 1819, West Hills, NY
  • Died: March 26, 1892, Camden, NJ
  • Buried: March 30, 1892, Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, NJ
  • Siblings: Jesse Whitman, Thomas Jefferson Whitman, More
  • Parents: Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Walter Whitman, Sr.

Poetry Foundation, (2012.) Walt Whitman Biography

Article #2

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walt-whitman

In Midnight Sleep

Devices In Depth

Voice, Tone,Theme, Mood

Voice/ Theme

Stanza #1

In this stanza, Whitman is describing a horrific image.

Stanza

There are three stanzas in this poem.

Rhyme Scheme

In this heartbreaking poem, we are seeing the war through Whitman's eyes. He talks about what he sees:

  • People dying
  • Bodies lying flat on their backs
  • People with faces full of pain

I believe Whitman did an amazing job of making the theme of war clear and evident.

Whitman sets a very emotional and dark tone in the first stanza of this poem:

IN midnight sleep, of many a face of anguish,

Of the look at first of the mortally wounded—of that indescribable look;

Of the dead on their backs, with arms extended wide,

I dream, I dream, I dream.

Tone/Mood

There is no rhyme scheme in this poem

Quote

"...of many a face of anguish"

Anguish - "Severe mental or physical pain or suffering

This quote relates to the many people dying in war, and the pain they are left to deal with.

Of the dead on their backs, with arms extended wide,

I dream, I dream, I dream.

Poetic Devices found:

  • Imagery
  • Repetition
  • Mood
  • Tone/Theme
  • Voice

Dark

War

Powerful

IN midnight sleep, of many a face of anguish,

Of the look at first of the mortally wounded—of that indescribable look;

Of the dead on their backs, with arms extended wide,

I dream, I dream, I dream.

I believe Whitman made the mood so dark to give the reader a sense of what it was really like here.

Stanza #2

In this stanza, the tone is more hopeful. Whitman talks about what he dreams of; what he wishes for.

The mood turns very hopeful in this part of the poem

Poetic Devices found:

  • Mood
  • Imagery
  • Repetition

"..scenes of nature fields, and mountains"

"I dream, I dream, I dream"

Of scenes of nature, fields and mountains;

Of skies, so beauteous after a storm—and at night the moon so unearthly bright,

Shining sweetly, shining down, where we dig the trenches and gather the heaps,

I dream, I dream, I dream.

Devices In Depth

Repetition, Mood, imagery,

Mood:

The mood is much more hopeful. In this point of the poem, Whitman starts to talk about the things he wishes for. The topic changes from war, to nature. The nature topic relates to transcendentalism

Imagery:

"...Of skies, so beauteous after a storm—and at night the moon so unearthly bright,

Shining sweetly, shining down, where we dig the trenches and gather the heaps,..."

It is very easy to imagine the scene in the readers mind.

Repetition:

I believe Whitman used this repetition to make a statement, and make a point in this poem

"I dream, I dream, I dream"

is in all three stanzas of this poem

Long, long have they pass’d—faces and trenches and fields;

Where through the carnage I moved with a callous composure—or away from the fallen,

Onward I sped at the time—But now of their forms at night,

I dream, I dream, I dream.

Stanza #3

In this stanza, Whitman has moved along from the horrible war.

Poetic Devices found:

  • Mood

The mood is enlightened here

  • Repetition

once again, "I dream, I dream, I dream"

Devices In Depth

  • Free Verse Poem

There is no rhyme scheme in this piece of poetry

Setting,Type of Poem, +Side Note

  • Setting

Whitman goes back to the war theme.

setting:

Whitman mentions the trenches, by including this, Whitman goes back to the war theme. This reassures the reader of the real reason of writing this poem.

Type of Poem

This poem is a free verse poem

Definition

Free Verse -

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.

Similar to a regular speech

*

"...--But now of their forms at night,

I dream, I dream, I dream."

side note

I believe Whitman included this, to tell the readers that what he saw in the trenches still haunts him in his dreams.

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