3B+Stoeppel

My Dramatic Reading:

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Stylistic Features Analysis:

Walt Whitman’s poem, “I Sit and Look Out” is about a man who experiences all that is wrong with the world and chooses to do nothing about it. Through the use of punctuation, repetition, and the literal way in which the poem is written, it is clear that the mood is both melancholy and pessimistic.

Due to Whitman’s use of punctuation the tempo of the poem is very slow which shows the melancholy mood. Throughout the poem a total of twenty-two commas are used which allow for pauses while still uniting all of the ideas in the poem. In the second to last line of the poem Whitman uses a semi colon. This separates the two main ideas in the poem: what Whitman experiences in the world around him, and what he does about it. This not shows the melancholy mood that is evoked by the actions that Whitman experiences, yet it also shows Whitman’s pessimistic attitude towards these experiences. Not only does Whitman see how negative these actions are around him, but he also fears their inevitability.

Whitman also uses repetition to convey the pessimistic and melancholy mood. This use of repetition is most notably seen with the repeated use of the word “I”. This is the start of all but the last two lines. Most importantly, the word I is linked to the senses, thus showing that Whitman has witnessed these things in the world around him. This is the use of ethos show that although Whitman personally experienced these actions in the world around him, we feel the pessimistic mood in that never in the poem is the word I linked to an action. Thus it is shown that although all of these things are occurring, there is nothing within Whitman’s power that can be done about it.

Lastly throughout this poem there is a dearth of figurative language such as similes and metaphors. This lack of figurative language shows the literal nature of the poem which in turn shows the melancholy and pessimistic mood. In this poem Whitman makes no attempt to make his image of the world more pleasant. Because of this the reader is forced to see the nature of the world that Whitman depicts with no smoke and mirrors. On the same note, throughout this poem Whitman chooses to use many words with negative connotations to show the reader that there is very little good in this world that Whitman sees. Throughout this poem Whitman uses words such as “anguish”, “agony”, and “treacherous” all show the melancholy mood of the world that Whitman is experiencing. These words are also all used in a way that makes it seem that misery is inevitable thus enhancing the melancholy and pessimistic mood.

Response Poem: (in response to "I Sit and Look Out")

“I Feel as I See”- by Emily Stoeppel

As I walk I see all of the good in the world,

And all of the cheer and affection,

I hear the giggling of children at play,

Playing with nowhere to be and nothing to do,

I see everywhere, the woman that is adored by all,

The baker, the chauffeur, the one always willing to help,

I see the wife beloved by her husband, I see all

Of the gestures he makes for her every day,

I mark the signs of affection and true love,

Bursting to be shown, I see these things as I walk,

I see the workings of a community, home, family, I see

The lovers and the loved,

I observe a train arriving home, I observe soldiers running

To those who waited as they fought for freedom,

I observe the praise and admiration doled out by people

Who care, upon students, workers, volunteers,

And anyone they see;

All of this—all of the love and praise never ends

When one stops, another begins,

Throughout it all I look, listen, and love.