ipl-logo

Walt Whitman's I Saw In Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing

784 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Walt whitman preface to leaves of grass

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in Long Island, New York and although he had limited formal education, he went on to be a printer, reporter, teacher, newspaper editor and is celebrated as “one of America’s most important poets of the 19th century” (Academy of American Poets, 2015). Compared to many of the other poets of their time, Walt Whitman started very late in his life. In 1855 he self-published Leaves of Grass which contained 12 poems and by the 8th edition in 1881 it contained almost 400 poems (Academy of American Poets, 2015). One of the original 12 poems was “I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing” and over the years many interpretations have been printed about the book and this 13 line free verse poem in particular. Walt Whitman uses vivid imagery …show more content…

One does not think of a tree as being rude but Whitman appears to be describing the tree as vigorous, healthy and released from any bonds which was impressive to him. Whitman also describes the tree as “uttering joyous leaves of dark green” (3). Again, not words typically used to describe a tree but used here to describe the beautiful and full leaves this tree is displaying. Whitman has painted a picture and you can thoroughly visualize this tree standing beautiful and statuesquely in solitude. Whitman appears to be completely mesmerized by the fact this tree is able to thrive and prosper “without any companion” nearby (3). In actuality, this is not such an outrageous feat. Live-Oaks are monoecious, which means their flowers contain either female or male reproductive parts, allowing for asexual reproduction. So, the fact that this tree is thriving incredibly well alone does not seem to be as significant as the fact Walt Whitman repeatedly states that he or maybe humans in general, could not flourish under the same

Show More
Related

Examples Of Figurative Language In The White Heron

699 Words | 3 Pages

The tree is like a boat and the main mast is the biggest part, and also the most helpful. The main mast holds the biggest sail and pushes the boat the furthest. This theme can be described also in life, sometimes there is a stranger, someone unknown who is like a main mast helping you travel the sea of life. Jewett has used similes and imagery to show how the tree and the environment can be an adversary at once and then immediately become a helping

Read More

Brief Summary Of Ojibwe's Mistake

413 Words | 2 Pages

The tree was so beautiful, and the view from under it was so tranquil, and the man forgot his sorrow, and eventually he was happy. As he sat under the tree, he saw another man approaching in the distance. He was crying as he walked toward the tree, but he saw the tree’s beauty and stopped under it. The two men sat and talked of their troubles. As they talked, a third approached weeping.

Read More

What Does The Water Symbolize In A Separate Peace

1463 Words | 6 Pages

The tree is rather large, located on Devon Campus and some of its branches hang over the Devon river. The tree represents the carefree nature of youth and innocence. Gene and Finny and many other people all gather to hang out and play by the tree, often jumping from the tree into the river. At the very beginning of the novel during the first chapter the narrator Gene describes the tree's great stature by saying “The tree was tremendous” (Knowles 14). At the beginning of the novel, the tree serves as a symbol of freedom and the joy of youth.

Read More

Symbolism In A Separate Peace

1032 Words | 5 Pages

In his memory, the tree is a “huge lone spike”(13) or an “artillery piece”(13), but when he sees it again it looks small and innocuous. Though the tree itself has not changed, Gene's perspective, which has changed over the years, is what is enabling him to face the tree without it haunting him. At the time of the incident, in his youth, the tree was a symbol of fear and forbidding. At the end of the novel, the tree has become a symbol of profound changes in perspective that time and growth can give people. “This was the tree, and it seemed to me standing there to resemble those men, the giants of your childhood, whom you encounter years later and find that they are not merely smaller in relation to your growth, but that they are absolutely smaller, shrunken by age….”(14).

Read More

Jeanette Rhetorical Analysis

240 Words | 1 Pages

The tone of this excerpt is overly yielding. The narrator has a superficial lifestyle where she is happy with the home she lives in and all of the amenities she has while her parents live a content lifestyle, where they have done right by their daughter and allowed her to grow up to where she is today. The narrator cannot bare to see her parents in the state that they are in and feels that although her parents are happy living on the streets that they shouldn’t because they don’t live in an actual home. This tree symbolizes the narrator’s life. As a child, she had gone in every direction that her parents had taken her.

Read More

Poetic Devices In Crossing The Swamp

405 Words | 2 Pages

Metaphors are being used throughout the poem to compare the difficult terrain of the swamp to our speaker’s challenge with going through life’s hardships. An example is, “Here is swamp, here is struggle, closure – pathless, seamless, peerless mud.” This quote compares the struggle of walking through muddy swamps to the struggle of finding closure. They are both seen here as pathless, seamless, and peerless. Mary Oliver was able to shift the overall mood of the poem by showing two different sides of the speaker’s emotions.

Read More

A Camp In The Daybreak Gray And Dim ; From Drum Taps By Walt Whitman

413 Words | 2 Pages

The poem “A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim; From Drum Taps” written by Walt Whitman is a bit different that traditional poetry covered in lesson 12. There is little to no rhyming which is quite different from traditional poetry seeing as many of the the poets before Whitman enjoyed using words that went together. Second the meters used by Whitman do not have the traditional feel to them, they are much longer and almost feel more like sentences in a story than the meters in a poem. Emily Dickinson's poem “ Tell all the truth but tell it slant” is very abstract, so abstract that it is almost impossible to understand what the main idea behind the poem is. Also not only is it difficult to understand, but the poem is the

Read More

A White Heron Literary Analysis Essay

756 Words | 4 Pages

This kind of description shows the reader how impressive and majestic this tree is, as it puts a vivid picture in the reader’s mind as something that is not only unrivaled in terms of altitude, but it can also be seen from the sea, which highlights its stature as a wholly independent object. Old as it is, this pine is strong, and does not need any assistance from the ecosystem surrounding it. The importance of this giant tree, along with other details that make the story more interesting, is what dramatizes this young heroine’s adventure.

Read More

How Does Shel Silverstein Use Personification In The Giving Tree

1095 Words | 5 Pages

When giving words to a tree, a being that can’t actually talk, the author is using personification and giving the tree human capabilities. Thanks to the use of personification on the tree we can figure out the tree’s motivations which is to do what it takes to satisfy the boy. Another clear example is on page 42. The tree says “Cut down my trunk” (Silverstein) and the boy proceeds to do this. We can see again from this that the trees motivation is just to please the boy.

Read More

Direction Of The Road By Ursela Leguin

795 Words | 4 Pages

By focusing on objects that pertain to its proximity in relation to the tree, it demonstrates that the Oak tree is most concerned with objects that are capable of affecting their life. The Oak tree provokes its readers to have empathy towards itself by anthropomorphizing itself in a variety of ways. The Oak tree states “I had learned the basic trick of going two directions at once” (LeGuin 270) which demonstrates that they have the ability to learn, an attribute many people only give to humans or animals. In addition to this, the protagonist relates itself to “a family of rigid principle and considerable self-respect” (LeGuin 268).

Read More

The Wound Dresser By Walt Whitman Analysis

914 Words | 4 Pages

Whitman’s experience as a wound-dresser at the time of the war gave him a unique perspective of the men and women on the front lines. One way he shows the realism is through his free verse style that doesn’t have a rhyming pattern or many other traditional poetry rules. This gives his poetry sort of an edge that lets the realism come through. The way Whitman gets the audience’s attention in his free verse style is through repetition of words that rhyme but with no necessary order. One example of this is his use of the first-person pronoun I in “The Wound-Dresser” for example at the beginning of most stanzas Whitman starts out by saying “I dress a wound in the side, deep, deep, … I dress the perforated shoulder, … I am faithful, I do not give out” (Levine 78).

Read More

I Sing The Body Electric Poem Analysis

1116 Words | 5 Pages

“Solitary the thrush, the hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements, sings by himself a song,” (Lilacs, stanza 4, line 3-5). The author creates an image of being in solitude usually occur when someone purposely wants to be left alone, or at times when it is unintentional. Throughout Whitman’s poems, a different tone is depicted, but in some, they share the similarity in tone. Walt Whitman uses the symbolism of nature to depict his loneliness.

Read More

The Importance Of Grass In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

197 Words | 1 Pages

This explains how he believed that the stars and the grass should be thought of as equal and man should show appreciation for grass as well. Moreover, Whitman implies that because the grass is so close in terms of touch, humans should enjoy it more since stars are completely out of reach. As it is evident that Whitman appreciates

Read More

Democracy And Democracy In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

1125 Words | 5 Pages

In this grand poem, Whitman glorifies the unity of all people and life. He embraces the geographical diversity as well as the diversity of culture, work, as well as sexuality or beliefs. Whitman’s influence sets American dreams of freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment, and changes them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman appreciates hard work as well as being simple and non-egotistical. His major ideas are things such as soul, good health, as well as the love of nature.

Read More

Critical Analysis Of Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

938 Words | 4 Pages

Secondly, Whitman’s use of imagery shows the power of his imagination and the extent of his sensory impressions. Line twenty-two for example brings forth the energy coming from nature and its spiritual affect on the self. In addition, Whitman uses the senses to draw a picture for the reader. Touch for example, is used in “a few light kisses, a few embraces…”(1150). Hearing is used in “the sound of the belch’d words of my voice…”(1150).

Read More

More about Walt Whitman's I Saw In Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing

Related Topics

Open Document