Slang Comparison When you think of slang today, the most positive connotation probably doesn’t come to mind. We often times associate slang with a term used in a derogatory context. You may even find yourself linking the use of slang to a particular group or social class, where in reality, almost all of us use slang every day without realizing it. In Walt Whitman’s “Slang in America”, he gives several examples of common words that underwent a change of meaning through the usage of slang. “Insult” originally meant “to leap against”, “wrong meant twisted”, and “spirit meant breath or flame” (Whitman 2). Whitman valued and recognized the effects slang had in the development of the American language. Another author who acknowledged the importance
diatribe, is popular in schools country-wide. In its way, this is a tour de force of black English and underworld slang, as
Slang is the key reason words take on new meaning. A teenage girl may say a guy is hot! This does not mean he is sweating, it means he is good looking. This is an example of slang. People familiar with slang will understand this meaning, while those unfamiliar will not. As our culture changes so does our slang and words take on new meanings. Let’s take a closer look at the word burn. Some of the definitions may surprise you.
Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass covers many facets of human love, including love of the physical body. Whitman’s book contains many poems that try to embrace the beauty of the human body instead of covering it up. Whitman describes the human form in close detail throughout Leaves of Grass, but one of his poems in particular is especially vivid in detail. In “Children of Adam”, the fourth book of Leaves of Grass, Whitman gives readers a celebratory look at the human form. “I Sing the Body Electric” is one poem in particular that demonstrates how Whitman celebrates the human body through descriptive language of love and the human form and by elevating the human form to something more than a simple vessel for a soul. Whitman uses these techniques to emphasize the idea that mortal human forms are no less magnificent than spiritual bodies.
(A critique of Walt Whitman’s themes and ideas in Song of Myself 6, 46, 47)
Romantic literature is such that an author writes in an attempt to convey his feelings on what the world should be like. It is unrealistic, unreasoning, and imaginative writing. William Cullen Bryant and Edgar Allen Poe are two examples of romantic writers. Though Poe fits the mold of a romantic writer it is obvious that his writings do not mirror those of Bryant or many other known romantic authors. His works share a uniqueness that is not found amongst the other writers, it is this uniqueness that separates Poe’s works from the rest. Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis” is a good example of romantic literature. This work compared to Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” will show that characteristics of Poe’s work that, both, make him a romantic writer and separate him from other romantic writers.
In Walt Whitman's pastoral elegy, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", he successfully depicts how nature and citizens mourn Abraham Lincoln's death after his assassination in 1865. He flawlessly incorporates numerous poetic devices and methodically places them throughout his literary work. One of the poetic devices that he continues to use is parallelism. Walt Whitman's inclusion of parallelism contributes to the successful style of the poem by adding to the lyrical flow, creating emphasis, and introducing descriptive details.
The 1881 publication of the Leaves of Grass contained more than twenty-four poems, which were reasonably filled with ten or more diversified types of themes. Walt Whitman the author and compiler of this exceptional work changed the status of poetry writing through his utilization of thought and expression in the publication of the Leaves of Grass. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a collogue and admirer of Walt once spoke this of him '…Whitman, that Sir, is a strange case, a case unknown to any of us, unless we should stumble upon him at church one day…';(Chase 142). A prevalent subject in all of Whitman's poetry is his use of the Divine Soul (god), which tends to explicate that Whitman was a very strong believer in his religion. Whitman use of themes discusses his own individuality and personality; he wanted to explain the democracy of America, and its achievements, while giving poetical thought to the great mysteries that plagued mankind of his generation.
Examples include, pickpockets, murderers, pedophiles, drug dealers, and prostitutes. Argot is a private vocabulary particular to many nonprofessional groups such as truck drivers, ham radio operators, military personnel, and circus/carni workers. Jargon is a technical language of a professional class, like “NPO” in medical uses stands for a patient who should not take anything by mouth. Slang derives from cant and argot that is understood by most people but not often used in normal society or in formal written communication. An example of slang is stating something is a “piece of cake,” which is a metaphor used to describe something that is easy.
Adults use slang less, but sometimes they use it in some very informal situations. For example chatting with family members or close friends. At that time, slang terms can be efficient way to express their ideas and concepts. And it does their communication more efficient, and also it reinforces their relationship.
In “O Me! O Life!,” Walt Whitman uses a desperate questioning tone to connect the questions that he has of his life to the answer that he comes up with. Whitman uses the questioning tone to set up his true message given off as the answer in the poem: through all the trials of life, one should struggle, for there will be a chance to contribute a verse, to have meaning.
To concoct a visual with just reading an accurate and detailed portrayal of actual life, which includes real characters in real lives with real jobs and real problems was very significant to this country’s literary history. “Realism in American literature, which lasted from 1865-1910, was a reaction to and a rejection of Romanticism” (http://education-portal.com). “Walt Whitman was determined to express the truth through verse using authentic American situations and settings with language that appealed to the senses, [for instance the battlefield hospital in Falmount, Virginia.] The Civil War provided him with an adept opportunity” (http://edsitement.neh.gov). In comparison to Abraham Lincoln, whom also transcended his speech in a way readers could create hatch an optic. Lincoln did use some powerful rhetorical speaking devices in his writing, which included parallelism and repetition.
A display of proud patriotism in the variety of the American people is seen in Walt Whitman’s poem I Hear America Singing. Whitman “hears America singing” which is the sound of American people joyfully singing as they work in unity. Each worker is transforming America to be the best it can be with an upbeat attitude as they try to make the best of their work efforts. Their lively songs are filled with pride as they “each sing what belongs to him or her” (Whitman) which describes each of their unique traits that makes them special and valued citizens of America. Of the various images depicted the ending even includes the workers united as a whole singing up till the very end of their day. Upon further analyzation of the poem, the method of writing
Through the clever use of anaphora, well-chosen appropriate diction, and varied sentence structures, Whitman was able to emphasize and effectively portray to the reader how learning from the astronomer was boring and useless while learning from nature was superior. By doing so, Whitman was able to extend the ideal of transcendentalism that true knowledge is gained from first hand experiences from nature and not from traditional learning practices and reading books.
Not only is hip-hop a way of expressing ones feelings or views, but is a part of the urban culture and can be used as a communication tool. Slang originally came from hip-hop music and has become a very popular use in today’s society, especially the urban parts.
In the article Do You Speak American? by Cran & MacNeil (2005), the authors bring to light two arguments of standard English, those of a prescriptivist and descriptivist. Jessie Sheidlower is an editor of the Oxford English Dictionary and his viewpoint is that of a descriptivist, any words that do exist should be recognized. It doesn’t matter if the word is slang or of an inappropriate nature, there should be some sort of record of it. According to Cran & McNeil (2005); “He is the author of a