Whitman & Dickinson Test

“I Hear America Singing”

“I Hear America Singing”

poem by Walt Whitman, uses a metaphor & parallelism, talks about ordinary people living and working in unity

“Song of Myself 1”

poem by Walt Whitman, the speaker celebrates himself and nature

“Song of Myself 17”

poem by Walt Whitman, uses parallelism, the speaker’s thoughts, the grass he walks on, and the air he breathes belong to everyone

“Song of Myself 51”

poem by Walt Whitman, the speaker looks forward to the future, asks the reader questions

“Song of Myself 52”

poem by Walt Whitman, talks about death & returning to the earth

“A Noiseless Patient Spider”

poem by Walt Whitman, uses parallelism and repetition, the spider and human soul are always looking to making connections and being a part of something bigger

“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”

poem by Walt Whitman, uses parallelism and catalog, the speaker is in a lecture hall listening to an astronomer but gets bored and leaves to enjoy the night sky

“Because I could not stop for Death”

poem by Emily Dickinson, death is personified, the speaker is dying, is okay with death because it is a part of life

“I Heard a Fly Buzz - When I died”

poem by Emily Dickinson, the speaker is dying & signs their will

“The Brain - is wider than the Sky”

poem by Emily Dickinson, uses paradoxes, describes that the human brain is equal or more powerful to these large/powerful objects like the sky

“Water, is taught by thirst"

poem by Emily Dickinson, you need to experience both sides of life - need to suffer & live before you can understand something, uses parallelism

“The Soul selects her own Society —"

poem by Emily Dickinson, uses alliteration, imagery, and simile, the speaker is happy with what she considers is important

"There is no Frigate like a Book"

poem by Emily Dickinson, uses personification, the whole poem is a metaphor comparing books and pages to frigates and coursers, the power of a book can take you on a bigger journey than any type of transportation