Shelley Grace
2/24/2016 09:41:54 am
My favorite poem of Walt Whitman's that we have read as a class, thus far, is "There Was a Child Went Forth". I like the idea of a child's surroundings and favorite things becoming a part of them. I believe that we as humans are merely made up of everything we've ever done or seen. All music we listen to, movies we watch, hobbies we take interest in, everything impacts us. Whether it's a positive impact or a negative impact depends on the person. "There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he looked upon and received with wonder or pity or love or dread, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day .... or for many years or stretching cycles of years." The landscape you grow up around, the things you're raised on and the people you meet all have serious impact on you, whether you know it or not, whether you'd like to believe it or not. We are what we love, we are what we hate, we are what we are. Maybe I like it so much because it's so real to me. This is real. It really occurs and it happens every day all the time.
Reply
Alison Renee'
2/24/2016 09:55:32 am
This is good, and very real as well. I think you are right because everyone is your life do have a serious impact on what we do and how we think. Even some of the "less" important people in our lives have impacts as well, such as strangers we pass by in the store, because we care what they think about us even if that thought is small we still care a small amount. We also care about things that we say we don't care about, even if you say you really don't care about something that happens you still think about and care to some degree.
Reply
Loodachris
2/24/2016 06:57:28 pm
This is also a very good piece, honestly all of Whitman's work was very well written.
Reply
hayden
2/25/2016 10:17:57 am
I agree Shelley, you wrote really well
Reply
Hunna
2/25/2016 12:49:01 pm
This hit me deep down.. Great writing :)
Reply
Cody Taylor
2/26/2016 09:24:34 am
I completely agree. We as humans are basically the product of our experiences and what we've done or seen.
Reply
Alison Renee'
2/24/2016 09:42:19 am
My favorite Walt Whitman piece is 'O Captain, My Captain', this is my favorite piece from him because he makes the comparison of Abraham Lincoln to a ship very interesting and well detailed. The way that Whitman makes Lincoln a father figure and compares him to a ship is interesting in the sense that Whitman looks up to Lincoln, he shows these emotions well, he feels sorrow because Lincoln is dying. This father figure that Whitman looks up to is dying and Whitman is trying to tell us about how he feels in this comparison to ships. I just find this piece well rounded, heart felt, and deep down that it captures what Whitman was really trying to say.
Reply
Shelley Grace
2/24/2016 09:45:09 am
I knew you were going to choose this poem because it's about Lincoln. This is good, I agree.
Reply
Loodachris
2/24/2016 06:56:03 pm
I agree
Reply
Hayden
2/25/2016 09:34:30 am
I agree, this one was my favorite too.
Reply
Emily
2/26/2016 10:04:34 am
I like how you relate so well to the feelings that Whitman has... But do you think it's a little odd that he sees the president as a father figure?
Reply
Loodachris
2/24/2016 09:43:32 am
With a man such as Walt Whitman, it is hard to pick an exact favorite, but the one I enjoyed the most is probably the poem titled O captain! My captain! This poem shows meaning, and sends a heartfelt message to the longing to a fellow man. It is Whitman's most popular poem, and I truly understand why. The way Whitman words the stanzas, the power of the words is amazing. Any person with love for poetry will deeply appreciate the poem. The poem is straight to the point with stanza four stating " Here captain! dear father! This arm beneath you head! It is some dream that on the deck, you've fallen cold and dead.". The mourning of the " captain's" death is why this poem exists, and it is an amazingly well written peace to be enjoyed by millions.
Reply
Mason
2/24/2016 11:06:57 am
I agree, you can really feel the mourning and sadness in the stanza that you quoted. I also enjoy how Whitman relates the captain (Lincoln) to a father figure, its a very different way to look at the presidency, which surely doesn't happen these days.
Reply
LeRoy Hardin
2/25/2016 10:56:17 am
I also had a hard time picking a favorite! I enjoyed the heartfelt message he sends in this poem as well.
Reply
Hunna
2/25/2016 12:55:19 pm
I couldn't agree more that this poem sends a very heartfelt message to a fellow man. I´m glad you wrote that because that´s honestly the same view I have on this piece.
Reply
leighton
2/26/2016 08:09:04 am
well said loo very much agree with you!
Reply
william
2/24/2016 09:44:42 am
i think my favorite was "there was a child went forth." mainly because i found it easier to understand than the rest of them.
Reply
Mason H
2/24/2016 11:47:32 am
That's the only reason it is your favorite?
Reply
Layne H
2/26/2016 09:48:31 am
What did you understand about this one more so than the others? What did you 'get' from this one?
Reply
Emily Groseclose
2/24/2016 09:45:35 am
My favorite of Walt Whitman's writings is "There Was a Child Went Forth." The depth of the poem is really interesting to me and how he can come up with these metaphors for life is pretty impressive because I'm not good at that. It's also interesting how he can go from the poem being so happy in the beginning to so melancholy toward the end. He uses Spring to make the poem happier and lighter, then moves on to family and love and connections (which is not melancholy, but not super happy) and then moves on again to cities and people and clouds and waves and the poem becomes melancholy. It's interesting to me how he can do all this at the same time to create such a lasting effect on a person. The person reading can actually feel and connect and relate to the boy because the examples that Whitman uses are experiences that the reader has had him/herself. The poem leaves an effect that is stronger than other poems in that we can relate to us and it makes us think about our own lives. I really like and appreciate that effect and the way Whitman writes so deeply with so many metaphors for life itself.
Reply
LeRoy Hardin
2/25/2016 10:51:14 am
I also enjoy his transitions from happy to melancholy in this poem, it really throws you for loop!
Reply
Harley
2/25/2016 12:57:44 pm
Why do you think he shifts the poem's focus shifts from happy to melancholy?
Reply
Dylon
2/25/2016 01:47:06 pm
This poem is pretty great. Whitman has you feeling a lot of emotions throughout his poem, making you feel more attached.
Reply
Dakota
2/25/2016 05:31:22 pm
Wow! You really seem to know what you are talking about. I really love the fact that this specific piece by Whitman throws your emotions in different directions. Absolutely amazing poem!
Reply
Mason H
2/24/2016 09:46:24 am
My favorite writing of Walt Whitman's, that we read was “There Was a Child Went Forth” this is my favorite writing because of the deep meaning and powerful message that carries itself throughout the poem. It is about a child who, everytime he goes out and sees things they become a part of him such as the grass, the lilacs, and the horizons edge all become a part of him, his parents become part of him, other people become part of him. Just the fact that everyone is interconnected, and how we are a totality of our own experiences, it's just a really cool way to look at how people come to develop into who they/we are today. But in the end there is also the flip side of how we are made up of everything around us, but we are also made up of the negative things around us as well, a composition of pain, sorrows, depression, etc. I find it a very adventurous read with a deep meaning to me, and that's why “There Was a Child Went Forth” is my favorite Whitman writing so far.
Reply
Cody Taylor
2/24/2016 11:24:26 am
I completely agree with you. His writings are magnificent and mindbogglingly beautiful. You explained his poem with ease, even though it is immensely sophisticated.
Reply
Dakota
2/25/2016 05:29:12 pm
I completely agree with you. This piece creates an understanding of ourselves and the way we revolve according to the observations we make. Absolutely beautiful message! :)
Reply
leighton
2/26/2016 08:10:34 am
very good way of explaining this poem mason i didnt quite understand the poem at first but this really helps
Reply
Emily
2/26/2016 10:06:05 am
I really like how you look so deep into the poem. Do you relate to the poem at all and that's why you like it?
Reply
2/24/2016 11:21:39 am
My favorite writing from Walt Whitman would be "There as a Child Went Forth" most simply because of it's plain sophistication. There is so much meaning in between the words and clues left behind from paragraphs, it really challenges you. It is also immensely powerful. Every time the child goes out and observes the world, it becomes more and more apart of him. The way Whitman describes the plants, and lilacs and the water is purely magnificent. His imagery is beautiful and you can pretty much picture every word he writes. I also love that fact that it's not a happy tone or a sad tone throughout the entire poem, it goes up and down and up and down and plays with all the emotions capable of feeling. This poem by Walt Whitman is purely brilliant and beautiful and by far my favorite poem.
Reply
Mason H
2/25/2016 09:25:34 am
Very nice, your statement about the whole poem changing, and "playing with emotions," is very well put. Brilliant indeed.
Reply
Seth Wadsworth
2/26/2016 09:28:37 am
I agree. The beginning of this poem to me was quite easy to understand but he also has the capability of making the middle and end of the poem in a sophisticated manner. A lot of challenging sentences and clues for the reader.
Reply
Dakota
2/24/2016 10:50:25 pm
While I have read many great poems throughout my many years of reading; Shakespeare's amazing piece 'The Rape of Lucrece', Edgar Allen Poe's piece 'Annabel Lee', most of Robert Frost's work, as well as the work of the great and well-known Emily Dickinson, I have grown quite fond of Walt Whitman. I especially enjoy his piece titled 'There as a Child Went Forth' due to the sheer sophistication and manipulation of the mind. The idea that everything we do or associate with, whether it's as simple as getting up in front of the class or as huge as reminding a person of their worth every time you get the chance just so they don't go home at night thinking of themselves any differently, surely define us. When Whitman refers to the boy becoming the things he sees when he is out and about, he was actually referring to the idea that the boy learns more and more about himself and in turn changes little by little as he observes more. 'There as a Child Went Forth' is most definitely one of my favorite Whitman piece so far and I intend on reading more of his work in the near future.
Reply
Allie
2/25/2016 10:58:32 am
I completely agree with you. It is a beautiful and captivating.
Reply
Allie
2/26/2016 10:41:56 am
All of those different poets write good poems but I feel as if Whitman writes stuff that I, personally, can relate with.
Harley
2/25/2016 12:56:08 pm
I also like the idea that as the boy sees things, he learns more about himself. The boy becoming the things he saw was a really interesting concept.
Reply
Abbigail
2/26/2016 09:42:17 pm
This is an amazing poem and I completely agree.
Reply
Hayden
2/25/2016 09:33:01 am
Out of all the poems we read by Walt Whitman, my favorite one we read was O Captain! My Captain! because he talks about Abraham Lincoln as if they were related. Walt looks up to the president and is so inspired by him, at one point in the poem he calls Lincoln his father and I think that is really interesting because it shows us how inspired Walt was by the president or "captain". When he found out that the captain was dying, he got really sad about that because he is losing a person that he looks up to most. This poem is so well written its emotional and you can tell what Whitman is talking about.
Reply
Shelley Grace
2/25/2016 10:14:23 am
I agree, Whitman makes a really strong connection with the reader by speaking so highly of Lincoln, as if he was his own father.
Reply
Alison Renee'
2/25/2016 10:27:13 am
This is exactly how I felt about this piece as well, he has so much emotion towards Lincoln and he gets sad about how he is dying. It's super sad to think about someone that you look up to dying, so we automatically feel bad for Whitman.
Reply
Logan
2/26/2016 11:09:29 pm
Why do you think it is that we don't see our current president, or even recent presidents for that matter, the same way? What do you think needs to be done in order for us as American people to see our presidents as "captains" again?
Reply
Allie Burger
2/25/2016 09:35:34 am
Whitman is a very talented poet and just recently I have started to grow quite fond of his work. All of the poems that we read of Whitman's were very well written, but my favorite, by far, would have to be the one titled 'There Was A Child Went Forth'. He speaks about the child becoming that of which he observes and that which he observes becomes the child. The reason this poem is my favorite, is because Whitman wrote this piece with sophistication and tends to create a sense of mixed emotions in the readers; he is very manipulative. Whitman's message regarding the boy's becoming, was to explain to the readers that we as people tend to use certain things, things that we observe on a regular basis (new and old), to define who we are as a person. This poem was so explicit and very beautiful. I really do adore Whitman's work--- I didn't even know that I would learn to love poetry so much.
Reply
Wyatt Hardin
2/25/2016 10:49:27 am
I really enjoyed all of Walt Whitman's poems, but my favorite would have to be “There Was a Child Went Forth.” This poem is fascinating to me, especially how he uses the different metaphors for life. Another thing that interested me was; how he starts this poem with a very happy tone, and then finishes it with the melancholy tone. Whitman altogether does a great job in all of his poem in drawing connections with the reader, it definitely makes his work enjoyable to read.
Reply
Seth Wadsworth
2/26/2016 09:25:55 am
I agree. Whitman really has a good idea for making metaphors from what seems like nothing.
Reply
Harley
2/25/2016 12:00:38 pm
While all of Whitman's work is noteworthy, my personal favorite that we've discussed is, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." He develops the idea that by sharing experiences, people become united and that's a really interesting concept. He claims that people who rode the ferry fifty years ago, him, and people who ride it in the future are all going to experience the same things and feelings, and that connects them in a way. He feels part of something that's bigger than himself, and is basically claiming that time and place cannot separate people, but rather it's our experiences, thoughts, and feelings that unite us.
Reply
Dylon
2/25/2016 01:14:43 pm
I completely agree with you. It's pretty astonishing that he feels connected with random people; he doesn't know what they look like, he doesn't know any of their names, or where they are from and yet he is connected with them because they've had the same experience.
Reply
Hunna
2/25/2016 01:23:29 pm
Out of the Walt Whitman poems that we read my favorite would have to be ¨There Was a Child Went Forth¨ which is about a child that goes out everyday and the first thing that he sees becomes a part of him. I really enjoy the thought of this because really everything we do affects our life somehow, whether it's negative or positive it does have an effect. Whitman uses these metaphors for life that are a challenge to understand but once you do it makes the poem all the better. The biggest factor of the poem the way he uses people, places, natural events and seasons of the year to change the mood. I find it amazing how the poem is happy and uplifting during the spring when natures beauty is at its best but once he mentions cities and population the poem turns to sad place.
Reply
Dylon
2/25/2016 01:39:16 pm
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" is my favorite poem of Whitman's that we have read so far. The way he described the scenery and how he felt connected with anyone who had rode the ferry in the past, present, or future really stood out to me. Being able to think that you could have a connection with many and not actually know them is an amazing concept. How he absorbs what he is seeing, taking it all in, and only examining that generations to come will be encountering a duplicate of what he sees. What I get out of this poem is that time and place doesn't separate people. Our experiences bring us together and make the whole human race have things in common, other than skin color, or hairstyle, religion, or language. Whitman thinks in a way that most people don't. He likes to think we all are the same in some sort of way.
Reply
Gavin Son of Gawain
2/26/2016 09:36:35 am
Right! Like, if you think about it, we travel a section of the path that Lewis and Clark took every single day, but don't even think about it! We travel the road that expanded our country, even though we don't realize it.
Reply
Seth Wadsworth
2/25/2016 05:40:36 pm
I think my favorite of his writings was There Was A Child Went Forth because starting in the first paragraph, he says "The first object he looked upon and received with wonder or pity or love or dread, that object he became." This sentence really gives me a sense of childlike wonder meaning I think of a baby looking at a ceiling fan and can stare at it for hours and not be upset, not cry, etc. Also it gives me the idea that he is progressively growing up in his poem and not just I, but other people I believe can relate to this poem in a very close way.
Reply
Allie
2/26/2016 10:40:28 am
When I read that first paragraph I got the same feeling! It makes you really think about what life was like as a kid!
Reply
leighton
2/26/2016 08:00:53 am
My favorite of Walt Whitman ' s poems is 'Captain My Captain'. I think that it shows what a patriotic man he was and his admiration for President Lincoln. He refrences President Lincoln as the captain who has been assassinated shortly after the Civil War ended. He pays respect to the civil war, using the phrase the "fearful trip". And then he references the preservation of the union as "the prize we sought ". This was something which both Whitman and Lincoln felt was the main reason for fighting the war. And ultimately "the ship" is the United States. All in all this is a very patriotic poem, paying respect to his favorite President that he admired and his country. I admire that about him.
Reply
Billy
2/26/2016 08:50:41 am
My favorite one that we read together was "There Was a Child Went Forth" this was my favorite because of how powerful of a meaning it had on the reader. This story is about a child that gets his life changed every time he goes out and sees things, they become a huge part of his life. His parents also become a huge part of him and his life, as long as some other people in his life. A powerful point that is made during this part is showing us how everyone would become a huge part of It is about a child who, every time he goes out and sees things they become a part of him, even the littlest things impact his life. He has a very inspirational story and it is cool to read about and think about what he went through and his hard times and compare it to what we go through and what we think our hard times are like.
Reply
Gavin Son of Gawain
2/26/2016 09:34:49 am
I agree with you completely, it is a good read, and certainly food for thought.
Reply
Gavin Son of Gawain
2/26/2016 09:33:17 am
My favorite work of Walt Whitman was 'O Captain! My Captain!', since it captured the loss of such a great leader and man perfectly. President Lincoln was such a great leader of the United States, and so influencial to our society today, and his assassination was a tragic loss to people of that time, and generations later. His depiction of the captain of a ship, the ship being the country and crew being citizens, is almost spot on with how the relationship between citizen and President should be. We take for granted that relationship, especially in recent years, to the point where it is almost non-existent. So many people see the President as just some guy who answers yes or no to things that other government officials bring up. In our eyes, the President has little to no power, and can be reached around by the rest of the government, or the people, if they so pleased. It is no longer a captain, but O Posterboy! My Posterboy!
Reply
Layne H
2/26/2016 11:57:58 am
It is a very interesting concept to see that so many people modernly disregard their connections with each other (shown here with the president, but everybody in general). Perhaps this is a product of our time? People have become more self-centered and uncaring than ever before, presumably because of the fact that there so many more people in the world, we can rely less on any once specific person.
Reply
Abbigail
2/26/2016 09:40:04 pm
I like this. But are any of the Presidents now even capable of being a captain? Back when Lincoln was assassinated the electoral college may have been in effect but they still took into consideration all of the votes of the people. Now the Government is making a way for the shortcut of having in office the person they want.
Reply
Layne H
2/26/2016 11:51:48 am
Out of all the Walt Whitman writings we have read, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" was undoubtedly my favorite one. I admit, it was not the easiest to understand, but once I finally did get it, it opened my eyes to the possibility of interactions in the world. This poem is very metaphysical representation of something as arbitrary as crossing the Brooklyn ferry, but delves deeper into the meaning of the individual parts that comprise the world around us, especially so with the individuals around us. This poem focuses on the idea that people (us) are linked with each other through time and space by some mysterious force, as Whitman says, 'shared experience'. The notion that although we are all receiving the same sensory information (lets say, the view on the way of the Brooklyn ferry), but we are all interpreting it in a different way, is the main idea Whitman plays with. This concept, for whatever reason, resonated with me because I think I truly understand what Whitman was trying to conceptualize: that things and people are tied together, without even realizing it. This is shown when Whitman writes "Who knows, for all the distance, but I am as good as looking at you now, for all you cannot see me?" because in a way, we can see each other. Through Whitman's writing, he has created a window through time and space to connect with whoever is reading the words he once wrote-- a shared experience.
Reply
Logan
2/26/2016 11:04:11 pm
That's a great summary of how I also think Whitman intended it to be. Not only did you summarize it, but you also got me thinking about how things are just intended to be.
Reply
Abbigail
2/26/2016 09:32:57 pm
My personal favorite of Whitman's poems is O' Captain my Captain. This is because the man/woman in office is supposed to be the captain of our country. The president is like the father we listen to him, we show respect, we follow his every movement. This stands out to me because of how we have so many presidents after Lincoln or even Teddy Roosevelt that aren't the smartest. This says that Lincoln was a great leader and showed love for his country, this is why this stands out to me so much.
Reply
Logan
2/26/2016 10:48:34 pm
My favorite poem that we read by Walt Whitman was, "There Was a Child Went Forth." This one stood out to me the most because there was such deep meaning behind it, and I think that its meaning is true. The message was about a child that goes out and becomes part of the things that he experiences within his environment. The child gains qualities and characteristics of the people and things that he encounters.This is a good representation of how we come to be as people. We have learned to adapt to our environment and the people around us so that we fit in. We see it commonly with music, style, how we talk, and our body language towards one another. I just think that there was a great connection between Whitman's poem and reality.
Reply
Peter
2/26/2016 11:45:44 pm
My favorite is "O' captain My captain" due to the fact Whitman wrote this poem shortly after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. It is an extended metaphor intended to memorialize Lincoln's life and work. The Captain represents the assassinated president; the ship represents the war-weathered nation following the Civil War; the "prize won" represents the salvaged union. The speaker, torn between relief and despair, captures America's confusion at the end of the Civil War. It was a time of many conflicting sentiments, and Whitman immortalizes this sense of uncertainty in "O Captain! My Captain!"
Reply
Blake
2/26/2016 11:47:28 pm
My favorite poem from Walt Whitman would have to be O' captain, my captain. This is my favorite poem from him because I remember from when me sister was in highs school her English teacher made her memories this poem. Still to this day she can resite this poem written by Whitman. So I don't exactly have any reason for it to be my favorite besides the fact that I still have that memorie of her coming home and repeating each stanza over and over again. So when we read this in class it make me smile and think back to a time when my sister probly hated this poem but years later I find it funny because of her hatred of Walt Whitmans poem O' captain, my captain
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
InstructionsRespond to the Weebly questions in 200-300 word explanations. Respond to two other people's posts in a meaningful and constructive way. Archives
April 2016
Categories |