Examples Of Alliteration In I Hear America Singing

544 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays of I hear america singing

In, “ I Hear America Singing”, Walt Whitman uses alliteration, literal imagery, and tone to express the idea that there are many individual, hardworking workers in this country, but as a whole these people carry out the American pride. America does not only consist of one person, but it is the whole population that makes what America is today. This country is filled with fun and laughter for everyone to enjoy! Whitman utilizes the tool of alliteration to fully express the action of the workers in a way it shows the unity of the country. For example, the speaker expresses the action of the workers by saying: “The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench.” (9) This shows that even though a shoemaker is not the happiest job in America, the worker are still proud of who he/she is. The shoemaker is carrying out the American pride by being happy with his job. In addition, the author states the quote, “The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat.” (7) This shows that the boatman is proud of his job and what he does on the boat. Being a boatman is not necessarily the most fun job in America, but you get a lot of time to enjoy the view. The use of alliteration makes the action of the workers sound very important and it is …show more content…

An example quote can be, “The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam.” (4) Carpenters construct and repair anything from buildings to stairways. This shows the joy that the carpenter has he does his job. Another example that shows literal imagery is the quote, “The deckhand singing on the steamboat deck” (8) The deckhand, a member of the ship’s crew, does his job by going on the steamboat deck. This explains where the deckhand works and how he’s proud of the location of his wonderful job. These literal images of the worker’s actions shows that America is a country with many hard-working

Show More
Related

  • Frances E. W. Harper and James Whitfield

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    American Bards: Walt Whitman and Other Unlikely Candidates for National Poet. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • The American Voice In Walt Whitman's Poem I Hear America Singing

    379 Words  | 1 Pages

    The American Voice is characterized by the theme of hard work. This is demonstrated in Walt Whitman’s Poem “I Hear America Singing”, where all throughout the poem, he mentions the peoples constant singing and how joyful they are while they work. This means that the american people enjoy their jobs so much that it causes them to start singing. This idea develops over the text where Whitman states that they love their jobs and that they sing

    Read More

  • Similarities Between I Hear America Singing And Song Of Myself

    254 Words  | 1 Pages

    Walt Whitman is a highly talented writer of poetry that showcases both transcendentalism and realism. In his two writings, “I Hear America Singing” and “Song Of Myself”, He shows examples of both examples of writing. In the first poem I read by him “I hear America Singing” He talks about the middle class workers and how they contribute. In the end of this poem, the line says “Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else”. This line shows how materialistic the poem is and proves even further that it is realism.

    Read More

  • Whitman

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whitman’s approach to poetry is a reflection of his thought. These thoughts are free and wild, and his typical run-on sentences and his endless litanies of people and places represent the thoughts trying to be conveyed. The overall effect of these run-on sentences provides the reader with a feeling of greatness and of freedom. All of the feelings that are evoked from Whitman’s style can be classified as quintessentially American democratic feelings. The belief that Whitman had no style would imply that Americans as a society have no style, a statement that not only Whitman but Emerson and Thoreau as well fought against through their writings. Whitman and Emerson fighting for the same cause is not coincidental, Whitman has often been viewed as the “child” of Emerson, his work being greatly influenced by Emerson. Whitman’s technique of looking at everything as a whole and always opposed to breaking up the whole can be linked to his belief of unity within our country and the reason why he took the Civil War extremely hard and personal.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Walt Whitman And Langston Hughes

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whitman’s poem was written in the mid-1800s during the industrial revolution, but Hughes’ poem was written in the 1900s during the Civil Rights Movement. This is important because the Civil Rights Movement established the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Industrial Revolution moved at a slow place but there were still issues with slavery. Whitman’s poem was free verse while Hughes’ poem was traditional rhyme/rhythm. The tone of Whitman’s poem was patriotic and celebratory (I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear); because he was paying tribute to the success of the individuals; however, the tone of Hughes’ poem was sarcastic and frustrated (to build a “homeland of the free,’’ because he didn’t feel like some individuals were allowed to experience the American Dream. Whitman’s theme of his poem was that individuals and liberties make America great. On the other hand, Hughes’ theme of his poem expressed that individuals felt excluded from the “homeland of the free.” The purpose of Whitman’s poem is praise for universal brotherhood. However, Hughes’ poem’s purpose was to inform individuals about inequality, meaning that not everyone has the same liberties in America. Whitman’s poem focused on the jobs of the workers, while Hughes’ poem focused on race, social status, and a list to represent the “I am’’ phrase; (I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars). He also

    Read More

  • Similarities Between I Hear America Singing And I Too

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    Instead, he hears what he wants to hear, which is the joyous songs of working Americans who have the ability to get jobs and make money. Although, he claims to hear America singing, he doesn’t state the songs of struggle from African-Americans or the songs where they overcame their obstacles. Whitman’s title of his poem falsifies the audience to believe that he sees America for what it truly is, even at its worst time. Despite that, he still seems to avoid mentioning the songs of

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Whitman And I Hear America Singing

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "I Hear America Singing," Whitman refers to "the varied carols" of different workers "mechanics", "the carpenter", " the mason", "the boatman" and "the deck man", "the shoemaker" and "the hatter”. Whitman includes workers of both genders, listing "the mother,"the young wife at work," and "the girl sewing or washing". These Americans at work are "singing what belongs to him or her and to none else," The have a sense of pride for what they can do and for the skills of which they hold. Whitman, on the other hand, identifies each person with his or her task; the work is what defines the person here. Whitman only allows the entitlements these works be their name and voice.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes I, Too, Sing America

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    The speaker in the poem says that he too can “sing America,” too, meaning that he can be looked as the same way as other Americans. He is claiming his right to feel patriotic towards America, even though he cannot sit on the same table ad have to eat in the kitchen just because he is the “darker” brother. The speaker described the racial segregation during the early 20th century and showed almost every aspect of black Americans life, they were forced to work, travel and eat separately from their white counterparts, had little to no civil or legal rights, they faced economic marginalization in South and the North and were also victimized of racial

    Read More

  • An Annotation of Section 24 of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.

    Read More

  • ‘America’ by Walt Whitman.

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the poem can be termed to be democratic, both in subject matter and its language, Whitman is viewed to be cataloging the ‘new’ America that he is seeing around him. The poem includes subject matter such as relationships, patriotism, heroes, family and ancestors, and a view on social commentaries too.

    Read More

  • American Influences of Walt Whitman

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...n in a full and complete life (Loewen 38). “The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem,” wrote Whitman in his preface to “Song of Myself” (Marx 20). The four major cultural developments that occurred during Walt Whitman’s lifetime—the development of American dictionaries, the growth of baseball, the evolution of American Indian policy, and the development of photography—definitely contributed to his poetic style. Through these events, not only did Whitman find his poetic subjects, but he also discovered his poetic tools and techniques.

    Read More

  • On The Beach At Night Alone By Walt Whitman

    359 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although Whitman uses a great deal of structural ways to stress his ideas, he also uses many other ways of delivering his ideas. First of all, Whitman portrays himself as a public spokesman of the masses. The tone of the poem is a very loud, informative tone that grabs ones attention. The emphasis placed on the word “all” adds to the characterization of Whitman as a powerful speaker. Furthermore, Whitman takes part in his own poem. Participating in his own poem, Whitman moreover illustrates the connection between everything in life. Lastly, Whitman, most of all, celebrates universal brotherhood and democracy.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Walt Whitman's Poetry

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    In one of Whitman's poems, I hear America singing, he talks about people with everyday normal jobs and shows in his poem how he respects their hard work and honesty in doing what they do.

    Read More

  • Individuality And Democracy In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    Walt Whitman is considered the foremost poet of American democracy of his time. Not only did he fully embrace it, but he believed that American democracy was more than a political system, but a way of life (Casale 48). Many of his personal experiences influenced his deep democratic point of view (48). As a volunteer at an army hospital during the American Civil War, he saw many die and became increasingly grateful for the opportunities provided by the American government (Mirsky). Later, as he was residing in New York City, Whitman witnessed America face urbanization. He loved the diversity of the cities and believed it was possible because of democracy (Brand). This adoration of democracy is apparent in many of Whitman’s works, such as “Drum-Taps”

    Read More

  • What Is The Theme Of Nationalism In Walt Whitman's Leaves Of Grass

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his first line he urges, “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear” (I Hear, 1), referring to the people as one group of Americans who are all somehow united by their individual tunes. Each and every individual has lived a different walk of life, with different hardships, and varying circumstances. With that being said, the people singing these tunes are all driven by their ambitions, and have achieved a level of freedom they could not anywhere else in the world. Whitman writes, “Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else”, implying the importance of independence and individuality. Like their different tunes they sing which together form a melody, the different circumstances they come from unites them as Americans. Ironically it’s the fact that everyone in America does live a different walk of life, with different goals, and different circumstances that unites them. It is the ability to express one’s own individuality that forms the American, the same way the individuals different songs form a melody.

    Read More

More about Examples Of Alliteration In I Hear America Singing

Open Document