A Child Went Forth by Walt Whitman Transcendentalisms

“A Child Went Forth” by Walt Whitman

Transcendentalism’s Main Ideas • The basic truths of the universe are beyond any knowledge that can be obtained through our senses. Intuition is therefore the source of real truth because intuition goes beyond (transcends) what we can see or hear, or what can be learned from books. • Human possibilities are limitless. Therefore, we should be optimistic about human nature and human progress. • • God is within us – and within all living things. Nature’s beauty is a visual aspect of the beauty of human nature. Be yourself. Accept nothing just because it is widely accepted. Investigate for yourself.

Walt Whitman • Whitman created new poetic forms and subjects to fashion a distinctly American type of poetic expression. • He rejected conventional themes, traditional literary references, allusions, and rhyme—all the accepted forms of poetry in the 19 th century. • He uses long lines to capture the rhythms of natural speech, free verse, and vocabulary drawn from everyday speech • Considered America’s 1 st poet.

Imagery • The use of vivid language to generate ideas and/or evoke mental images, not only of the visual sense, but of sensation and emotion as well. • While most commonly used in reference to figurative language, imagery can apply to any component of a poem that evoke sensory experience and emotional response, and also applies to the concrete things so brought to mind.

Imagery cont. • Poetry works it magic by the way it uses words to evoke “images” that carry depths of meaning. • The poet’s carefully described impressions of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch can be transferred to the thoughtful reader through imaginative use and combinations of diction. In addition to its more tangible initial impact, effective imagery has the potential to tap the inner wisdom of the reader to arouse meditative and inspirational responses.

Imagery cont. • Related images are often clustered or scattered throughout a work, thus serving to create a particular mood or tone. Images of disease, corruption, and death, for example, are recurrent patterns shaping our perceptions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. • Sight: Smoke mysteriously puffed out from the clown’s ears. • Sound: Tom placed his ear tightly against the wall; he could hear a faint but distinct thump. • Touch: The burlap wall covering scraped against the little boy’s cheek. • Taste: A salty tear ran across onto her lips. • Smell: Cinnamon! That’s what wafted into his nostrils

Repetition I was glad; so very, • The purposeful re-use of words Example: very glad. and phrases for an effect. Sometimes, especially with longer • phrases that contain a different Example: Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward… Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, key word each time, this is called Cannon in front of them parallelism. It has been a central part of poetry in many cultures. Volley’d and thunder’d… Many of the Psalms use this device as one of their unifying elements.

Parallel Structure • Parallel structure (also called parallelism) is the repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence. By making each compared item or idea in your sentence follow the same grammatical pattern, you create a parallel construction. When an author uses parallel structure, they increase the readability of your writing by creating word patterns readers can follow easily. • Example Not Parallel: Ellen likes hiking, the rodeo, and to take afternoon naps. • Parallel: Ellen likes hiking, attending the rodeo, and taking afternoon naps. OR Ellen likes to hike, attend the rodeo, and take afternoon naps.

“A Child Went Forth” • How does one make sense of the world from birth to adulthood? • How does Whitman use Imagery to support his message? • How does Whitman’s use of repetition support his message? • How does the imagery of your life show you understand the world? • What is more important, the end result of the journey or the journey itself?