I Sing The Body Electric Poem Analysis

1116 Words5 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“Solitary the thrush, the hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements, sings by himself a song,” (Lilacs, stanza 4, line 3-5).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. One part of nature is the animals, Whitman used three animals: a bird, a human and a spider. A bird typically symbolizes freedom, and the freedom can be of expression. In the poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” Whitman uses a bird’s song to express feelings. “A shy and hidden …show more content…

The bird’s song is consistent, the bird constantly sings, it is voicing its expression, as Whitman does. Humans may not directly be an animal, but may have animal-like behaviors and qualities, however a human symbolizes imperfections. As a human behaves as an animal or uncivilized, it allows the imperfections to shine through. In his poem, “I Sing the Body Electric,” Whitman uses parts of the body to symbolize how unique each piece is, it can be damaged so easily, just like him and his feelings. Imperfections are seen as negative, and so is the symbolism of spiders. Spiders are seen as deadly creatures that can kill easily. The poison within them can relate to many things, such as the negativity in life. But the way this spider is, it has castes itself away to prevent the bad. Even though there is bad, the bad can do good. Spiders inevitably make webs, it is part of their nature to do so, however each spider’s web is unique in its own way. A spider web can be compared to its mark on the world. The web is connected through different pieces of filament, each piece …show more content…

The vastness is the water alludes to hoe lonely the author feels. The water is deep and holds a lot within it, it holds life and darkness, just as Whitman feels. “Measureless oceans of space,” (Spider, 6). Whitman uses the ocean to compare how measureless it is, since it is always moving and growing, just as the has to grow. As each beach as sand, the sand gets washed away and renewed. The renewed sand gives a chance for new beginnings. Whitman uses the symbolism of nature to speak of his feelings, especially his loneliness. Each piece of nature Whitman used played a role to explain his feelings. As each poem progresses, new feelings arose. Whitman, in the end, uses his poems to express his inner feelings that he did not want to share directly to the

Open Document