•Synopsis In Whitman’s poem Out From Behind This Mask, the poem starts out by talking about the passion and excitement that to many, lies just out of reach. Whitman is trying to illustrate how this ecstasy is much closer than once thought, by comparing the barrier as a curtain or a mask. The wonders that lie beyond this mask range from “passionate teeming plays” to “the glaze of God’s serenest, purest sky. ” To Whitman, the possibilities are endless.
In the first line, “Out from behind this bending, rough-cut mask”, Walt Whitman establishes that this poem has a personalized message for each reader with the “rough-cut mask” symbolizing everyone’s outside appearance (or face).
The third and fourth lines establish the unity of each person’s own life. Line 6 describes how the face can guise what the heart feels and lines 7-10 explains that the face can express beauty and ugliness as well as being a “limitless small continent” (showing unfathomable amounts of features in a condensed area).
Whitman then expresses that the face is more distinct than any planet (or other body) and that our lives revolve around ‘the face’. In line 17, the first connection between universes (or faces) is made by sight, “These burned eyes”. Whitman then proceeds to express how this “look” is such a unlikely occurrence, almost a miracle by odds. The “look” is the refined to a glance between two passing people. He states that this ‘glance’ can occur anywhere and that at the moment your eyes meet, your souls are one for an instant. As the poem progresses, Walt then defines freedom, by comparing it to astrological articles.
The Essay on London Line Writes Poem Lines
In this essay I will be look at two different poems and what image they make of London, and their views. Wordsworth has written his poem 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge' in a sonnet form, which is usually only used for poems about love, this implies that Wordsworth's poem will be about how much he likes London. Blake has written his poem in quatrain verse, which at the time was the most common ...
Freedom is more delicate than the sun or the moon, or any of the planets (Jupiter, Venus, Mars), and it is as condense as the universe. Mr. Whitman then not only creates a shift in the poem through words, but through punctuation as well. “To launch and spin through space, revolving, sideling, from these to emanate To you – whoe’er you are – a look. A traveler of thoughts and years, of peace and war… (Whitman 19)” The physical lines indicate the shift in the poem, and what was once a lively bright mood now begins to age and slow down, until you reach the last line
of the poem, and Whitman states, “To draw and clinch your soul for once inseparably with mine, then travel, travel on. (Whitman 34)” Whitman is trying to leave a last impression on the reader by telling them to take their own path, and bee free. •Themes In Out From Behind This Mask, the common theme is freedom, and being able to take advantage of it. Walt believes that you need to let your soul free and live life to the fullest. Mr. Whitman makes comments about not seizing the moment and watching it pass by therefore bounding you. “These burned eyes, flashing to you, to pass to future time.
” The first and the last lines of the poem set the tone for the whole piece of literature, by clearly stating what message Walt is trying to get across to his readers. “OUT from behind this bending, rough-cut mask,” the first line is so powerful, because it tells the reader that he/she needs to open up and let your soul run free. •Motifs Light/Shade: light represents what freedom has to offer, whenever Whitman makes a reference to light, phrases like “God’s serenest, purest sky” are used, while shade refers to what happens when you don’t take advantage of freedom. Emotion: Mr.
Whitman writes using so many emotions to convince the reader to make the most of his/her life. Opposites: The motif of opposites occurs primarily in the first half of the poem. The mask is described as “bending, [and] rough-cut” and it is common knowledge that a bent object is not rough by any means, but quite smooth. Whitman uses “lights and shades” to mean ‘the good and the bad’ moments in life. Lines 7-8 hold the best example of opposites in the poem, “This glaze of God’s serenest, purest sky. This film of Satan‘s seething pit”. The mask is described as both “Godly” and “Satanic”, “serene” and “seething”, and as both a “sky” and “pit”.
The Essay on Whitman Poems Interperted
Walt Whitmans poem A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim, sets the picture of a solider camp near a battlefield. (This was probably around the time when he served as a volunteer nurse and comforter in the army.) In line two Whitman wakes up early due to little sleep, perhaps from going to battle. As he goes outside near the hospital tent, he sees three people on stretchers brought outside ...
Whitman also represents ‘good and bad’ as “sun or moon” (day or night) and “peace and war”. He uses “continent” and “sea”, opposites on the planet Earth, to describe the mask as a map. His use of opposites also relates to illusion of size; the “limitless small” and “condensation of the universe”. When limitless first comes to mind, one thinks of a very large area, but it is unfathomable for something to be “limitless[ly] small”. Similarly, the universe extends forever, but how can one condense ‘forever’? Concealment: The second motif is concealment and is present in the first half of the poem.
The first example is the concealment of the face, “mask”. One wears a mask to conceal their face, identity, or emotions. A “curtain” is basically used to block out the outside world (privacy) or, as in a play, conceal motions/actions made. The “glaze” or “film” from lines 7 & 8 are used to damper the intensity or protect from certain aspects. Movement: Simple words like out and more complex ones such as revolving are used by Mr. Whitman for the same purpose. He wants everyone to enjoy life to the maximum and take advantage of every opportunity by getting up and going for it.
Astronomy: Whitman makes repeated references to astronomical objects, in order to illustrate how strongly he feels about living life for the moment. Religion: Religious references are made less obviously than the other motifs, but Whitman uses it for the same purpose as the astrological references. He is trying to portray this type of lifestyle as a lifetime satisfaction. •Explanation of Symbols Late in the poem, Walt Whitman uses a couple of objects such as a road, some crevice door, or an open window, to symbolize the vast number of opportunities we have as human beings to take advantage of, and how so many of us let them pass by.
•Literary Features 1. Imagery: Imagery in the poem is used to enhance the understanding of the message Walt Whitman is trying to portray. 2. Hyperbole: Walt uses hyperboles to exaggerate particular phrases that he feels are of high importance. 3. Apposition: In the beginning of the poem, apposition is used, so the reader can see what he/she gains from seizing the moment, and what he/she must suffer with if they fail to do so. 4. Climax: Walt uses climax in order to show how freedom measures up to everything from the importance of the Earth itself, to the universe.
The Term Paper on Walt Whitman Death Bird Love
Palomo 1 Michael Palomo American Literature Professor Sanchez May 9, 2000 Walt Whitman: An American Poet The ability to pinpoint the birth or beginning of the poet lifestyle is rare. It is rare for the observer as it is for the writer. The Walt Whitman poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking is looked at by most as just that. It is a documentation, of sorts, of his own paradigm shift. The ...
5. Epanalepsis: Epanalepsis is only used at the very end of the poem to tatoo the last words Walt has to say into the minds of his readers. “Then travel, travel on. ” •Significant Lines/Shifts The most significant shift in Out From Behind This Mask, is clearly the shift where Walt goes as far as using hyphens to physically illustrate the change in tone and style. Early in the poem, Whitman’s tone is very lively and optimistic, but as soon as he goes through the shift, his tone begins to age and become less vivid.
•Poem’s Context (Author’s Style) Walt Whitman was a very enthusiastic Transcendentalist (believes that the spirit transcends the physical state of existence), that commonly incorporated his beliefs into his poetry. The title of the poem itself suggests that Walt Whitman believes that we hide behind a mask that governs us. He is writing to educate his readers, and teach them that it is alright to let go and be free. Walt believes we were not meant to be bound like this. Everyday we live is a gift, and we need to make the most of it.
In the poem, Whitman writes about taking every chance he gets and maximizes its opportunity, which is exactly what the Transcendentalist’s believe in. “As on the road, or at some crevice door by chance, or opened window, pausing, inclining, baring my head, yon especially I greet. ” •Original Thoughts When I first read Out From Behind This Mask, I didn’t really know what to make of it. I wasn’t sure of the message Walt Whitman was trying to portray, and I wasn’t very enthusiastic after finishing it my first time through.
Once I read it again I realized it was much more than a cluster of individual lines, but instead, Walt combined these lines into one large flowing piece of poetry that mean a lot to me. I am not a transcendentalist, but I do agree with Walt in the sense that everyone does need to come out from behind their mask, and we do need to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way during the course of our lifetime. The use of different motifs in the poem I felt were very well thought out, because they all served the same purpose, which is to portray the importance of freedom, but the do it in different ways.
The Essay on Richard Cory Analysis Tone Poem Shift
'Richard Cory " Paraphrase: A man named Richard Cory appeared to have it all: looks, a suave persona and a respectable social status. These qualities were respected and admired by the townspeople, even envied to a small degree. Despite his apparent perfect life, Richard Cory shot and killed himself. Purpose: The purpose of this poem is to show that people are not always who they appear to be. ...
Religious references were made in order to be compared to freedom, and emotion was used to show the mental effect it has on the people who take advantage of it. The shift a little more than halfway through the poem was extremely clever, because by using hyphens, not only did he make a shift using literature, but he also made one physically through punctuation. The poem as a whole was thought out very well, and it takes more than one glance to absorb the vast amount of emotion and feelings that Walt Whitman is expressing in Out From Behind This Mask.
