3B+Byrne

__**Poetry Reading**__

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Stylistically, I Sit and Look Out by Walt Whitman is very complex. The mood of the poem is meant to be somber and a bit resentful to portray the story of a man looking out upon an evil world and doing nothing to change it. The author gives off this emotion by using multiple words with negative connotation such as “sorrows”, “remorseful”, and “agony”. The beginning of each line, except for the last two, begins with the letter “I” to give the poem a more personal feel so the reader feels that the author is speaking directly to them. This personal feeling accompanied by the somber tone gives off the feeling that this is a matter that must be listened to and cared about. The poem has no rhyme scheme for rhyming can cause a poem to become somewhat fun to read but this poem is not meant to be fun, but negative and serious. This poem is also very literal. There is little to no similes or metaphors because the author does not want there to be any elements of exaggeration or thoughts being interpreted differently than the original meaning. This is so that the poem only realistically states what is wrong in the world and because when things are in any way exaggerated some may not take it so seriously. Commas are used frequently to separate ideas from each other, but they are also used to emphasize certain words as seen here, “I see in low life the mother misused by her children dying neglected, gaunt, desperate” (Whitman). By adding these commas each word is spoken with a pause in between which makes each of them stand out. Each word has a negative connotation and, again, drilling in the somber and resentful mood of the poem.

Poem

I look about upon the beauty of the world, upon the sun, the stars, and the sky

I see the beautiful delicacy of a rose and feel the soft residue it leaves on my fingertips

I hear the cheerful tone of a man who bides a passerby a good day, for he knows the power of a smile

I see the stars as I lay peacefully in a meadow with the soft sting of the night against my cheeks

I feel the comfort of a fire, as warmth engulfs your feelings and washes them away

I taste the warm softness of fresh bread that fills the body and pleases the senses

I feel the laughter that makes the side hurt and helps to forget

I feel a tinge of pain as I walk past the band of the starving, the decrepitude, the crying out in pain

And I could help

But I want to smell the flowers, and be warm, and feel the bliss of deep laughter

See, hear, and am silent