Friday, November 21, 2008

Leaves of Grass 2

As [the attributes of the poets] emit themselves facts are showered over with light....the daylight is lit with more volatile light....also the deep between the setting and rising sun goes deeper many fold.

Importance
The beginning of this book is dense, containing long sentences of an almost surreal nature that can be difficult for the reader to comprehend. This sentence, however, is relatively short, compared with the others, that makes it more noticeable. The reader is almost startled by the relative simplicity of the sentence and that shows its importance to the text. In addition, the content of the sentence shows Whitman's own adoration and reverence of poets and really exemplifies the overall theme of the book so far.


Analysis
The most obvious of the rhetorical devices in this line is the repetition of "light" and other light-related words. The image of light conveys purity, goodness, and positivity. These words, in this quote, are being associated with poets and their work, so Whitman does not hide his love for his occupation. Since "facts are showered with light", Whitman believes that poetry serves as a vehicle to articulate and critique human truths and the human condition. Without poetry, Whitman argues, humans would not see their true nature or in fact themselves. However, the "deep between the setting and rising sun" deepens, meaning the nighttime gets darker. This could mean that, during times without poetry or important literature, the social climate is much worse than it would have been had poetry never existed.

No comments: