I am having trouble connecting how Whitman uses diction to convey his meaning.
In the first stanza of part one, Whitman uses the word "rustle" to describe the movement of the "ripples" (a word I associate with the movement of leaves) on an autumn day. Does his reliance on fall imagery have any significance? Does "fall" reflect the inbetween place (between spring-birth-and-winter-death) that Whitman has found himself--a place where he recognizes his poetry has not reflected his true nature? Am I reading into this too much?
Also the first part of Whitman's poem, utilizes the "sss" sound--"straw, splinters...sea-gluten" and "scum, scales from shining rocks, leave of salt-lettuce." Is this intended to mirror the "sibilant" ripples? Also, what is the purpose of using this device in the first part but not the second? Does the change have something to do with Whitman's recognition that he actually doesn't know "the shores" so the "sss" associated with the sound of waves can't be used?
Now that I've written this, I feel I may have a better idea than I thought. Input appreciated!
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The following is my interpretation of the poem:
ReplyDeleteWho? Whitman
What? Taking a stroll along the shores of a familiar site
Where? Where water meets sand
When? Whenever he feels like thinking about life
Why? He has a message to deliver.
As I read the poem, I jotted a few things down in the margins. Here are my notes, and where they are written:
Part 1, Stanza 1: "snapshot"
But this snapshot centers more on his emotions than what he saw. He lives in the moment right now. But eventually, the poem seems to be more of a recall of his memories and feelings than a description of the moment.
Stanza 2: Then, eyes reverting from the south, dropt, to follow those... "wonders, little treasures, left by will of the ocean."
Part 2, Stanza 1: "image of driftwood"
"floating through life"
Stanza 2: Withdrawn far, mocking me with mock-congratulatory signs... "taunting shadow?" His silhouette, his old self?
Pointing in silence to these songs... "a shadow points in silence."
End of Part 2: "Nature is powerful, can defeat man - make him feel small and insignificant."
Part 3, Stanza 2: friable - easily crumbled.
Part 4, Stanza 2: "blare of the cloud-trumpets" Thunder.
Ending notes:
Last line of the poem, "Whoever you are, we too lie in drifts at your feet."
We walk above the Forgotten.
Becomes uncertain of his place in life as he grows old.
Young - invincible, (here I flipped back to look up) "electric self... pride"
Old - wants to leave an impact, not be walked upon, but realizes he is now at the mercy of others.
Your thoughts/notes?
Hey, great post and comment! Keep up the good work...
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDeleteI love that he starts off as somebody looking south off the coast of Paumanok and eventually becomes the coast. Very cyclical and reminds me a lot of life and death.
As to the first post,
I was very confused about the fall references (especially when i looked up the definition of "windrows"
1. A row, as of leaves or snow, heaped up by the wind.
2. A long row of cut hay or grain left to dry in a field before being bundled.)
but with the theme that you two brought up of life and death- i guess it would only add :)
Whitman does mention in the last stanza "a limp blossom or two, torn, just as much over waves floating, drifted at random" which to me reminds me of spring? ?? ??? I dont really know...
Anyways...
I feel like this might be obvious but what is "the secret of the murmuring i envy" ????
thx :) :)
At Marlena's post about the word, "rustle":
ReplyDeleteI seem to get the feeling that Whitman wanted the reader to associate the breaking of the water with the 'rustle' of leaves, as you mentioned. Like you said, there is probably significance in the limbo of autumn between 'spring-birth and winter-death'. The connection with dead leaves may also be that waves, like leaves, are the residue of death that washes ashore at the edge of this ocean of life. That these leaves, with their "hoarse and sibilant" sounds individualizes the water into distinct pieces. The first stanza seems to have a lot to do about death- mothers crying for castaways, "gazing off southward","the rim" of the globe". There is a feeling of ending despite this being the first stanza. So I think it very valid to compare the rustle to leaves, as the remainder of the life in a tree.
Thank you!...that was very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to throw something else out there, too. Whitman makes references to "my father" and "fierce old mother." Are these figures supposed to signify "God" and "Mother Earth?" And what characteristics distinguish them from one another?
On that same note, I am having difficulty with the last two stanzas of part three.
"I throw myself upon your breast my father,
I cling to you so that you cannot unloose me,
I hold you so firm till you answer me something.
Kiss me my father,
Touch me with your lips as I touch those I love,
Breathe to me while I hold you close the secret of the murmuring
I envy."
In stanza two, Whitman begins to harness feelings of desperation and as we move into the these next two stanzas, these emotions seem to be amplified. I, however, am confused as to the exact meaning of these stanzas and how they relate to the rest of the poem. Any ideas?
Well, since nobody else has weighed in yet, and since we didn't get a chance to discuss this poem in class on Monday, I'd say that figuring out what Whitman *generally* means by father and mother entails examining the contexts in which the addresses to those figures occurs. Thus "father," for example, first appears in the third section, in the stanza addressing itself to "you friable shore with trails of debris." Continuing "you fish-shaped island ... what is yours is mine my father," Whitman seems to be figuring the island itself as the father. A little bit after that he says "I too leave little wrecks upon you, you fish-shaped island," and follows that with "I throw myself upon your breast my father." In a literal sense, then, "father" seems to be something like "land." I say "literal" because the spiritual dimensions of this linkage obviously mean a lot to Whitman. You might want to ask yourself what exactly the "murmuring" might be and why he envies it. "Murmuring" seems an important word here, especially since the end of the second section deals with Whitman's fear that his "songs" are at end nothing more than "blab," that they, despite Whitman's intention, are worthless and meaningless pieces of fluff.
ReplyDeleteIf "father" on a more literal level means something like "land," then, what might it make sense for "mother" to be? Two hints: in section 1 he likens the "ripples" that "rustle up hoarse and sibilant" to "the mother endlessly [crying]," and in section 4 the first sentence addresses itself to _both_ "ocean of life" and "you fierce old mother."
Again, the spiritual dimensions of this comparison extend past the more literal likening of "father" with "land" and "mother" with "ocean." But you might also want to think about _where_ exactly this poem takes place - the shore, literally the place where land and sea meet, or, if one is standing in the right place, a place where land and sea are constantly changing places.
Finally, I think you're right that the feelings of desperation amplify in the poem, but it's important to notice how he does achieve a kind of reconciliation with them by the end. I'll leave that up to you to figure out, but you might want to focus on the last few lines, especially the way they seem to address the unidentified "you" that is "walking." I bring that up because the figure walking on the shore examining the drift thrown in by the sea seems to be _exactly_ Whitman at the beginning of the poem! What sort of switch of identity or perspective happens at the end? How might it speak to Whitman's coming to terms with the doubts the poem expresses?
Whew - long post. Sorry, sometimes when I get talking about poems it's hard for me to stop! See you all later today...