Why?

Hi all,

I have a confession. I am terribly afraid of poetry. It takes me forever, if ever, to understand the bizarre order of words and seemingly strange addition of punctuation. Fortunately, I think after reading Nietzsche and Emerson, nothing seems "complicated" anymore. The three Whitman poems (One's-Self, I Hear, Noiseless Spider) all seem to have straightforward and clear meanings (unless I'm not reading them deeply enough), but I am still troubled by one question: "why?"

What is the point of "I Hear America Singing?" Is he trying to present a certain "figure" of America? Or is he simply trying to make an observational statement? Why does he use carpenter, mason, boatman, shoemaker, wood-cutter, mother, and not lawyer, teacher, father, etc.?

In "A Noiseless Patient Spider," what is he trying to say by presenting such an isolated image of the human soul? Is he expressing his personal emotions, or is there a deeper implication waiting to be discovered?

I'm quite sure many of you already have it figured out, so I'm really looking forward to the discussion tomorrow. Thanks!

Best,

Ian Zhu

P.S. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate poetry. When I fully understand what the poem is about and how it is written, I realize that it is one of the most elegant and beautiful expressions out there.