Whitman IOC Review

Putting things into perspective…

• Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter- 1840• Whitman: Leaves of Grass- 1855• Whitman: Poems of Walt Whitman- 1868 (Published in

England)• Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- 1876• Twain: Huck Finn- 1884

• Remember, Whitman falls between literary movements: Transcendentalism & Realism. You can see key characteristics of both movements within his poetry.

Leaves of Grass

• ALL the IOC poems are from the larger work Leaves of Grass.

• Leaves of Grass (includes famous poems such as “Song of Myself” and “O Captain! My Captain!”

• Nine editions and the last edit includes more than 400 poems.

Elegies About Lincoln

• “O Captain! My Captain”- Elegy• “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”-

Pastoral Elegy

• Remember, “O Captain!” is stylistically different from the other poems. If you draw this one, you must make note of it.

• Don’t spend the entire time talking about how it’s different, but make sure you clarify that it is atypical and then move on!

Song of Myself (4 excerpts for IOC)• The longest poem within Leaves of Grass.• Consists of 1,345 lines• Written 5 years before the Civil War• Two of Whitman’s principal beliefs can be seen in this poem:

– 1. Universality– 2. All things are equal in value

• We have looked at verse 1, 10, 33, and 52.• The “I” in this poem is every American….every human being.• The poem celebrates the power of the poet and poetry in

general. He is writing about YOU. He is writing about ME. He is writing about EVERYBODY. ‘Merica!

Free Verse & Whitman

• Whitman is considered the father of free verse.• Free verse is poetry without regular patterns of rhyme.• Rhythm is often created through the use of other poetic

devices, including repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and other sound devices…so do not say there is no rhythm!

• The form of Whitman's poetry matches the content. Whitman celebrates the freedom of the individual and a celebration of freedom enjoyed in the United States.

• Because the attitude toward individual liberty in America was a break from European attitudes, he felt his poetry needed to break from European models as well.

More About Whitman’s style• Whitman wrote about ordinary people and described tons of different

people & places.• Whitman celebrated the body and felt that the body was a gateway to

the soul.• He was a strong believer in the power of democracy, and imagined

democracy as a way for individuals to integrate their beliefs into their everyday lives.

• His poetry describes communities of people coming together, and it imagines many voices pouring into a unified whole.

• Whitman loved listing. Often a sentence will be broken into many clauses, separated by commas, and each clause will describe some scene, person, or object. These lists create a sense of expansiveness in the poetry, as they are intentionally placed to represent the growth of the United States. The lists layered on top of one another are also intended to reveal the diversity of the American people.

• Often, Whitman begins several lines in a row with the same word or phrase, a literary device called anaphora.

Characteristics of Whitman’s Poetry• Spirituality• Emphasis on the Physical

Body• Celebration/Praise• Love for All Things• Equality/Democracy• The List/Catalogue• Death/Transcendence of

Mortal Soul• Natural diction and poetic

diction• Nature: cycles of death &

rebirth• Poet-as-reporter & storyteller• Direct, plain, even vulgar

language• Frankness of commonplace

and ugly sides of human life.

• Timelessness• Repetition• Highly physical

description paired with abstract musings

• Sexuality• Intimacy of Address• Individuality• Fearless use of 1st person

POV• Frequent/odd use of

ellipsis• Loooooong lines of poetry• Lack of Resolution• Poetry “suggests” rather

than “tells”

Common Whitman Conventions• Synecdoche• Diction• Metaphor• Repetition• Theme• Listing/Cataloging• First Person POV• Sensory Language• Imagery• Symbolism• Repetition• Anaphora• Internal Rhyme (NOT END RHYME EXCEPT O CAPTAIN!)• Inversion• Juxtaposition…yes it is true. • Questioning• Free verse! PLEASE MENTION FREE VERSE!!!!!

Whitman’s Common Themes

• Transcendent power of love, brotherhood, and comradeship

• Imaginative projection into others’ lives• Optimistic faith in democracy and equality• Belief in regenerative and illustrative powers of

nature and its value as a teacher• Equivalence of body and soul and the unabashed

exaltation of the body and sexuality

Whitman’s Use of Language

• Idiosyncratic (eccentric/unique/quirky) spelling and punctuation.

• Words used for their sounds as much as their sense; foreign languages

• Use of language from several disciplines• The sciences: anatomy, astronomy, botany (especially

the flora and fauna of America)• Businesses and professions, such as carpentry• Military and war terms; nautical

(marine/naval/navigational) terms

IOC Tips from the IB Gods

• 1. Pay attention to the guiding questions- If I’m asking you about it, it’s probably important, but remember, you DO NOT have to include them if you don’t understand them.

• 2. Deal with what you have in front of you- Most likely, you will have lines from a longer poem, unless you get “O Captain!” Focus on what you see in front of you, but provide a little bit of context about the work as a whole. Don’t spent too much time talking about the whole work, but it is good to mention it.

IOC Tips from the IB Gods• 3. Make the word “appreciation” central to

your commentary- You might not get a poem that you like, but there is no “bad” poem. Your job is to show why this example of poetry is a “good” one. You want to show how inventively, effectively, movingly, the poet has said something about the world, about thoughts and feelings. Practice with the poem that you feel would be your worst nightmare if you draw it randomly.

IOC Tips from the IB Gods• 4. Argue you case with supporting detail- If you task is to

show that you can appreciate the artistry of the poem, then you must support your case. Cite particular aspects of the poem as proof of your appreciation. Consider yourself the lawyer for your defendant, the poem.

• 5. Argue your case with some energy!- Sound involved with what you are doing. Your tone of voice and your energy can impact your score. You are not the walking dead.

• 6. Academic Language- “Ums” “Uhs” and “Likes” need to go away! I’m not excused from this either. If you need to pause, pause. Don’t fill the empty space with an “Um.”

Whitman IOC Study Guide Assignment

• Each table is going to be assigned 1 poem.• Your job is to create a simple study guide for

your poem for the IOC in a word doc format.• Things your study guide should focus on:– Key characteristics of Whitman within the poem– Conventions in the poem & meaning behind them– A T chart of ideas & techniques would be helpful

• Email these to me and I will put them up under IB Docs for everyone to use.

• I need these by Friday!