Journal 42 - Dickinson or Whitman

If I were alive in Walt Whitman's or Emily Dickinson's time, then I would definitely read Walt Whitman's literature over Emily Dickinson's. Walt Whitman was just a beast. True, Emily Dickinson's writing was more accepted at this time than Walt Whitman's, but Whitman's was just so much better than Dickinson's. There were so many different meanings to Walt Whitman's poems and writings that it made it way more fun to read than Dickinson's. If I were alive at this time though, I probably would not be reading at all. I would be too busy farming and driving horse buggies around. Maybe living in a small house on the Prairie. So I do not think that I would have actually been reading any writing at all, except for maybe the Bible because it was like the only accepted book at the time. This time period, the mid 1800s, was a very boring time period. People had nothing to do outside of live on the prairie, make fires, and farm. Then they would live in the same house for their whole lives which would be very unexciting. I mean I would not really mind living in this time period because I do not particularly enjoy television, computers, or telephones. This is true that it makes things bearable when it is boring, but for the most part, I do not need them in my life. I think that if I did indeed live in this time period, then I would be an explorer. I probably would have discovered Atlantis or something crazy like that. But I much prefer Whitman's writings over Emily Dickinson's writings because there are so many different ways you can take this one poem. Yes, there is only one set of words, but there are several different ways to interpret the poem. IT IS JUST SO EXCITING! So if you were counting votes, then I believe that over the consensus of this English class, Whitman would over power the voting polls.

I Shall Know Why, When Time Is Over Analysis

"I Shall Know Why, When Time Is Over" is a poem about how once Emily Dickinson, the author of this poem, dies, God or Jesus or "Christ" as she says, will teach her about life. This will explain everything to her and she will have no questions or anguish any longer. It is a very peaceful and relaxing tone that says you may struggle during life, but once you die, you will have no more severe mental or physical pain. That is just a very nice thing to think about. I want that to happen to me because if you work hard during your life then you will be rewarded with "Christ's" knowledge of life's struggles and tests. To me this would be a very useful key to have during life, but as this poem says, you are not rewarded with this knowledge until after you die and you are in the afterlife. "I shall know why, when time is over,/ And I have ceased to wonder why;/ Christ will explain each separate anguish/ In the fair schoolroom of the sky./ He will tell me what Peter promised,/ And I, for wonder at his woe,/ I shall forget the drop of anguish/ That scalds me now, that scalds me now" (Dickinson). So as we take a look into this poem, we ran see that Emily Dickinson says that she will know why after she has ceased to wonder why when her time is over, or in her death. She says Christ, which I presume is Jesus, will explain each individual time of anguish, or time or severe mental or physical pain while they are in a classroom type environment in the sky. It is said to be known that heaven is in the sky above the clouds, so this classroom would be in the clouds. She tells him to explain Peter's promise of staying with Jesus even with the possible consequence of death. We are all familiar with this story of Jesus being tried in the courthouse and Peter staying outside. Jesus tells Peter he will deny him three time before the crow calls. Peter was just like no way Jesus, not me, you are awesome and I will not deny you. But sure enough, Peter ends up denying Jesus three times and still Jesus forgives him. This story is read all the time at my church and it is a good example of the Lord's mercy on all of us. But Jesus will explain this promise that Peter made to Jesus but did not keep. Then Dickinson will forget about the pain that is "scalding" her now because of the sorrow that Peter felt to Jesus for breaking this promise. I thought this poem was a very nice poem that draws in both emotions that she feels as a human like anguish, and mixing into the afterlife with Jesus. Then on top of that she brings in a very recognizable story from the Bible that only deeper embeds the meaning of "I Shall Know Why When Time Is Over."



Dickinson, Emily. "I Shall Know Why, When Time Is Over." Bartleby.com. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. .

Ashes denote that fire was - Emily Dickinson

"Ashes denote that fire was" is a poem by Emily Dickinson that in my mind is very respectful to the elder people or the people who passed away of the world who have retired, or have just gotten old. It tells of how they once lived well, and had the fire inside, but now they are just ashes after the fire has burned. They had lived, but now are just old, or passed away looking back on the life that was once theirs. "Ashes denote that fire was;/ Respect the grayest pile/ For the departed creature’s sake/ That hovered there awhile./ Fire exists the first in light;/ And then consolidates,—/ Only the chemist can disclose/ Into what carbonates" (Dickinson). When we look at the literal meaning, we see that Dickinson is talking about ashes. She says that ashes give us the reason to believe that there was once a fire in place of the ashes. She tells us to respect these ashes that was designated a fire. Respect it for the dead animal's reason that was around the once present fire. Fire is first during the light, because fire is light; it sheds light as the fire burns. Dickinson then tells us that the fire comes together to be one force. One may think that fire is already a unified substance/ thing/ object/ whatever you want to call it. But if you think harder about how fire works, it really is not one substance. There are several licks of the fire that are all working separately to burn. Then, in the poem, Dickinson tells us that only a chemist can release the information about what the fire burns into. When we look at this poem from a deeper meaning, we can see that Emily Dickinson deeply respect the dead and elder people. We could say that the ashes are death and the fire is life. Then the chemist is God. We live, we shed light or life. We then die and only God can tell us who you were in your life with your death.




Dickinson, Emily. "Ashes Denota That Fire Was." Bartleby.com. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. .

Journal 40 - My Self

In class, and also outside of class through homework, we have been searching for Walt Whitman's definition of his Self. We have come to the conclusion that although his poetry may be repetitive at times, boring at times, and quite obscene a lot of the time, that Whitman's Self was broken into three categories. The first was his soul. The second was his inner self. And his third was the real him. I think if I were to assess my Self, there would be way more than just three parts to me. The things that make me myself are first, my parents. They have had the biggest impact on my life because they taught me to walk, talk, read, and so many other things. Then there would be my friends who also influence me in many ways and teach me things I do not know. A third piece would be Danbury, Iowa. That small town of three hundred and thirty people has had a giant impact on my life. I can handle the small towns, the conservative farmers, and the boring-ness. I spent the first twelve years of my life there. I learned practically every thing in my life in that small town and it is a part of. Then there are the obvious things, like my thoughts that make me me. People may be able to influence others, but the part that no one can control is one's mind. This is the strongest thing in the world that no one has control of. There is the way I act, the things I do, the reactions I make that make me me. It is because of these motions I make that give people an idea of who I actually am. A large part of me is death. I am not saying that I have had a lot of deaths in my family, but I have had a few. Like my Grandma who died before a time I can remember. My uncle Buzz. My Aunt Sue. Things like these made me grow in my relationships and made me hold on to the few close ones that I share with people.

Look Down Fair Moon Analysis

"Look Down Fair Moon" is a very peaceful poem in my mind about Walt Whitman asking the moon to bathe the earth with its beautiful light. The poem reads, "LOOK down fair moon and bathe this scene,/ Pour softly down night's nimbus floods on faces ghastly, swollen, purple,/ On the dead on their backs with arms toss'd wide,/ Pour down your unstinted nimbus sacred moon" (Whitman). We can take this poem in a literal meaning. Whitman is telling the fair moon to look down upon this scene, maybe the earth. He tells it to softly lighten the ghastly, swollen, and purple face with the moon's light aura. He then tells the moon to pour down its unrestrainted, shadowy light on the dead of people's backs with their arms open wide. From this literal meaning it does sound kind of creepy yes. But we can think of Whitman asking the moon just to light up the world even in the night when it is dark. He wants the world to be lit so people do not have to hide. When we think of the poem in this way, it really is quite beautiful and to me it is very peaceful. We can also think of "Look Down Fair Moon" as seen from a Christianity or spiritual stand point. We could say that the moon represents God or religion. Whitman is telling God to see the world as it is and send down "nimbus floods" into ugly faces. One definition of nimbus is "a luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint" (Dictionary.com). So these nimbus floods could be Jesus since he is God's son and he was sent down to save the people of this planet. He says he wants God to hit them in the dead of their back and the people will have their arms open wide ready to great this God. Then he wants God to give no restraint in sending down this "nimbus sacred moon" (Whitman). This is where we really see Whitman's spirituality come out and show itself. He wants God to come to earth and let his presence be known. There is evil on the planet and "face ghastly, swollen, purple" (Whitman), or ugly faces. Evil faces. He wants Jesus to come and save the people. We can I suppose also look at "Look Down Fair Moon" from Walt Whitman's Everyman concept as well. Whitman's Everyman concept basically says that everyone is the same, and collectively people are God. So that makes him, me, you all God. That is what his everyman concept is in a nut shell. So when we look at this poem form Whitman's Everyman concept, then we could say the moon represents people's nature. He is calling for people to come out of their evil ways and opening up their inner God. He wants people to embrace their inner God and for these people to rain down their sacred human nature. If all people would do this, then we would see a better world and a more peaceful one. Overall I really thought this poem was just a good one all the way around and I really enjoyed the meaning of making the world a better place.



Dictionary.com | Free Online Dictionary for English Definitions. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "Look Down Fair Moon." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. .

I Am He That Aches With Love Analysis

The poem "I Am He That Aches With Love" is a poem written by Walt Whitman. So whenever we read poems or really just anything we can have several different ways of interpreting what the poem actually means. We can look at it from the literal way where everything that is written down is actually what Whitman wanted us to read it as. There is the Everyman view point that has the main character be a common every day man. There is a Christianity and Spiritual viewpoint where the things in the poem are symbolic in the stories and symbols of religion or God. There is also an American view point where Whitman just writes about America. When we look at "I Am He That Aches With Love," "I am he that aches with amorous love;/ Does the earth gravitate? does not all matter, aching, attract all matter?/ So the body of me to all I meet or know" (Whitman). When we first look at it from a literal point, we see that Whitman identifies himself as a man who urges for sexual love and satisfaction. He then asks whether the Earth has a gravitational pull and if matter attracts matter. He then offers his body to any one he meets or knows. This could be said that since all matter is attracted to matter, that he is attracted to all people since they too are matter. From this we can conclude that when he offers his body to anyone he meets, he is offering sex to them as well. From the literal meaning, this poem is very sexual. When we look at this poem from the Everyman view point, we see that the "I" in the poem is the average citizen and this average citizen wants sexual love or satisfaction. And from being attracted to everyone they want to offer their body to any one they may meet. This citizen could be any one, and in from this viewpoint, the meanings of both the literal view point and the Everyman view point are the same except Whitman's role is now switched with a common man. When we view "I Am He That Aches With Love" from a Christianity and Spiritual view point, we could say that the "I" is God. And this sexual feeling of love represents religion. Because all matter is attracted to all matter, then we can say that God is offering religion to any one it meets or knows. This is generally true for religion and God as it is offered to any one of any class, race, or sex. So when we switch from a literal or Everyman view point to a spiritual view point, we can see there is a different meaning to it. Viewed from a Whitman America view point, "I Am He That Aches With Love" is seen once again as a totally different meaning. The "I" represents America and the sexual love could be the American Dream. So America has this feeling of offering anyone (other people) this American dream. At this point in time (1891-1892), America saw one of its greatest immigration totals ever. Millions of people were coming to America.


Whitman, Walt. "I Am He That Aches With Love." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

Journal 39 - Bardic Symbols

"Bardic Symbols" is a poem written by Walt Whitman. This poem is very reflective of his Everyman, America, and Christianity/ spirituality concepts. He interweaves these brilliantly to make "Bardic Symbols" a classic poem of these ages. When I read this poem the first thing that I observed when I read this poem was the America concept. It says, "As I walked where the sea-ripples wash you, Paumanok," (Whitman). Paumanok is a Native American phrase that means long island, which just so happens to be an island in New York. He then realizes as he is walking along this beach of long island, that he will never understand his existence. He talks of the ocean as a fierce mother and that could be the mother. The land could be the father. The twigs on the beach could be the children of this mother and father. Whitman says he does not understand existence is because as he is watching these twigs on the beach going back and forth from land to the sea and back again, he wonders what the point of existence is. He just does understand it. "Kiss me, my father!/ Touch me with your lips, as I touch those I love!/ Breathe to me, while I hold you close, the secret of the wondrous murmuring I envy!/ For I fear I shall become crazed, if I cannot emulate it, and utter myself as well/ as it" (Whitman).When we look from The Christianity concept we can think of instead of the father being Whitman's actual father, this father could be God. He says he loves God and he wants to remain close to God for all of his life. He is afraid of straying and he wants God to lead him in on the right path. When we look at William Dean Howells's reaction to "Bardic Symbols," we are not given a clear vision of what this poem represents. Howells jsut tells of how no one is Whitman and therefore no on e can understand what "Bardic Symbols" represents.


Howells, William Dean. ""Bardic Symbols"" The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .


Whitman, Walt. "Bardic Symbols." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

This Dust Was Once the Man Analysis

In this poem, "This Dust Was Once the Man," written by Walt Whitman, we see a very meaningful and a very short poem. It talks of the civil war and how the Union was saved by the Civil War. But there is also a deep message of murder and controversy surrounding the war. "This dust was once the man,/ Gentle, plain, just and resolute, under whose cautious hand,/ Against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age,/ Was saved the Union of these States" (Whitman). This is the poem. You can tell however the meaning of the poem. There is first the literal meaning. This is talking about a form of dust that was once not dust and instead a man. It was an ordinary, nice, and purposeful man. Under this hand there was the worst crime in the time that no age or land has ever seen before. This crime saved the Union of the United States. This last line is of course referring to the Union the United States' states' share with each other. Before the Civil War there was at first one Union. Then states in the south with slavery began to leave the Union and they formed the Confederacy which was rival to the Union. There were thirteen states in this Confederacy and then that is when the Civil War was started. It was to join the states together once again. After the Civil War it was once again the Union hence the line of, "Was saved the Union of these States" (Whitman). But this is the literal meaning. . When we look at it from a Whitman point of view, we could say that the man with the cautious hand who allowed the worst crime ever to happen is Abraham Lincoln. Whitman rarely, but still did, write about Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the President of the Union of the United States at this point in time. But Abraham Lincoln was the man who all of the Civil War happened under. He was often described as "Honest Abe." The point can be made that he was gentle with his words, and an ordinary man. He was also in the White House for a purpose. This terrible crime could be one of brothers fighting against brothers and turn the nation into a war against itself. This crime could refer to the hundreds of thousands of deaths that occurred during this war. The dust could also refer to the people who died during the war. This could all be brought to Abraham Lincoln even though many say he led the nation to becoming a whole nation once again; others could make the point he was the one who tore it apart in the first place. It all just depends on the perspective you are looking from. When we look at "This Dust Was Once the Man" from Whitman's Everyman concept, we can make the point that the man with the cautious hand was not Abraham Lincoln and that it was instead the soldiers of the war. This would then mean, that under a soldiers control and cautious hand, that the worst crime was committed. This crime could be the act of murder, a soldier killing another soldier, in battle. But these soldiers of the Union did save and bring the Union back together. So the Everyman concept is also a very valid perspective you could use.




"This Dust Was Once the Man. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. . Web. Mar 1. 2011.