Whitman Poems: KEY

“I Hear America Singing” – 510

1. Whitman is cataloguing in this poem; what exactly is it that he’s listing? Why is he listing
this?
a. The working class – people who are working with their hands.
i. Notice how each working person is proud of what he does. This is a
HAPPY working class, not the gloomy and downtrodden.
2. Whitman uses parallelism to set up his cataloguing. What is the parallel structure of the
poem? How does this add to the sound of the poem?
a. Worker +” singing” + description of what/where/how he/she is singing.
b. Adds rhythm
3. What is the tone of this poem? What words convey this tone?
a. “fraternal,” admiring, grateful
b. Robust, friendly, strong, blithe, belong, melodious, singing
4. Why do you think Whitman chose free verse for this poem?
a. The ease of the form fits the laid back nature of his subjects – the working man
b. It reflects the way common people talk more so than the strict structures of
romantic poetry.
5. What is the PURPOSE of this poem?
a. To honor and represent the pride and spirit of what really makes our country
special – “common” workers, the real backbone of America.
b. To embrace the true voice of America through the common worker
6. What deeper meaning or even idea could Whitman be hoping to express with this
poem?
a. A desire to show and value the diversity of America and give the working man
equality to other “Romantic” poets’ subjects.

“Oh Captain! My Captain!” - handout

1. What is the first immediate difference that stands out about this poem in comparison to
Whitman’s other works?

a. It a traditional verse poem, with rhyme and meter. (iambic heptameter)

2. What seems to be the plot of this poem?

a. 1 – a ship has just come through a terrible storm and won the fight it was in,
however the captain of the ship appears to have been a casualty to this fight. 2
 – the narrator is at a funeral or memorial for this fallen captain, yet is having a
hard time letting go and keeps asking him to come back. 3 – The narrator
continues to talk about how everyone else is now safe, and how the world may
be celebrating the life of the captain, yet he seems to be incapable of getting
over his death.

3. How does Whitman’s narrator view the captain?

a. As more than a superior – he was not only his leader, but he compares him even
to a father, showing more love and respect than any regular leader or superior
would command.

4. This poem is an elegy and an extended metaphor:

a. What are the parts of the metaphor for this poem?

The ship America

The fearful trip it has just completed The civil war
The captain Abraham Lincoln
b. For whom is this elegy written?

i. Abraham Lincoln after his assassination.

1. Whitman greatly admired the man and saw his death as a great loss
of one of America’s true leaders.

5. Why do you think Whitman chose to use traditional verse as opposed to his trademark
free verse for this poem?

a. To show honor and respect for his subject.

i. He wrote in free verse because most of his subjects were the common
man, and he was showing their beauty in being common.

ii. But, Lincoln was no common man. Lincoln was full of grace and honor,
more so than any other American (to Whitman). He wanted to give him a
structured, honorable memorial. (Many of the poems which Whitman
wrote for Lincoln after his death were in this same deviation of regular
verse).