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Analyzing Walt Whitman's 'I Hear America Singing'

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1. “Africa” The poem starts off with a very calm description of Africa, here Maya Angelou is portraying the country as a beautiful woman. The mood then changes when she explains the dark past when young boys and girls were taken from their home and sold into slavery. In the powerful ending, Africa rises and takes a stand for herself. 2. “I Hear America Singing” Walt Whitman shows the many faces of America. The men, women, and children sing about what they feel belongs to them. 3. “Ode to the West Wind” The narrator is reaching out the west wind asking it to make him a new man and help spread his ideas. He talks to the wind stating all the power that it has, like blowing away leafs, spreading seeds, and bringing storms. He knows the autumn wind cannot do all these things for him, but he ask it to take away his sadness. This …show more content…

“When I Consider How My Light is Spent” The narrator is a blind man reflecting back on his life and asking himself if he is good enough for God to need him. Patience answers him and tells him that God doesn’t need anyone and some of his best servants and the ones who wait. 6. “Eastern Guard Tower” 7. “Tell all the Truth but Tell it Slant” Emily Dickins explains the power of the truth in both how great and how hurtful it can be. 8. “I, Too” The narrator calls himself ‘darker brother” allowing the reader to assume he is a black servant in a white household. He says he is sent to the kitchen to eat when they have company is over. Rather than letting the racism affect him, he stays positive and dreams of equality. 9. “Ode to American English” The narrator expresses her love for American English by using terms native only to Americans. She misses the relaxed silliness of American English compared to the strict coldness of British English. 10. “The Red Wheelbarrow” The narrator allows the reader to pull conclusions for them self. We can assume that since the wheelbarrow is soaked in rain water that is too wet to go outside and enjoy the

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