Today, we learned about how a time period affects the works of a writer, took a closer look at Whitman’s poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry and compared it to “Hard Rains Are A-Falling,” by Bob Dylan. Whitman was an American poet that composed his poems during the post civil war era. This time period consisted of Reconstruction in the South and mourning across America for the loss of Abraham Lincoln. A lot of Whitman’s works have patriotism in them. One poem that I have read before that embodies this patriotism is O’Captain My Captain. This poem is a tribute to Abraham Lincoln after his assassination and it a prime example of the effects that the era had on his writing.

Whitman’s poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry is a very descriptive poem. Whitman’s central image of the poem is the seagulls. He refers to them many times and focused on them because they are free-spirited. There are a lot of references between light and darkness, which creates a duality. Anaphora is also predominant in this poem and is used in a way to slow you down as you read it. It also contributes to the overall feel of the poem which is a rocking feeling. At the end of class, I was able to listen to Bob Dylan for the first time, which was nice and I enjoyed listening to more of his music when I got home. While listening to “Hard Rains Are A-Falling” in class, it was interesting to see the relationship between Whitman and Dylan’s repetition and the kinds of images that are used. Both the song and the poem have a rocking feeling to them due to the repetition. Also, Dylan’s song contains a lot of juxtaposition between uplifting and frightening images, which creates a duality like in Whitman’s poem.

Today in Seminar, all the students received a poem to study and recite for the next class.  While Professor Kahan was giving out the poems, I was eagerly waiting for mine.  In all honesty, I was hoping for a comical poem and was a bit disappointed when I was given, Night Funeral in Harlem by Langston Hughes.  Fortunately, this poem was an enjoyable read and I had a good time analyzing it.

From reading the poem over and over, I developed a brief analysis.  I think the poem was about a poor family or group of friends in Harlem that were not able to afford life insurance.  Since they could not pay for life insurance, they were not able to provide a professional funeral service for a loved one that passed away.  Instead, the friends of the loved one paid for a cheap funeral service in which they did the majority of the work.  Even though the event was not an expensive one, it was still a highly meaningful funeral because the friends of the loved one came together to mourn his death.  Essentially, I think the poem portrayed that as long as there were loved ones to mourn the death of a friend or family member, the financial aspect of a funeral held little significance.  In addition, since Hughes placed the setting of the poem in Harlem, he probably thought that funerals such as these commonly occurred in Harlem communities.

I was surprised that I enjoyed reading this poem so much.  Usually, I dislike reading poems but since we started going over poetry in Seminar, my thoughts on this medium are changing.

Today’s topic to discuss dealt with Walt Whitman, and the connections made between his works, particularly, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, and the periods of Realism and Romanticism. The romantic period examines the dark side of human nature and deals with the unconscious. Whereas, the realistic period, focuses on a particular scenario that is common as well as prevalent within any society.  Also, Romanticism relates to the idea that everything is more individual, which is the very beginnings of what we call, psychology. The Civil War, which occurred in the 1800s, portrayed an American economy that became more based on the cities, and work based opportunities were reflected in urban life. During this time period, in Europe, the author, Victor Hugo, the writer of Les Miserables, began to slowly shift the scene and moved towards Realism. A perfect example would be Washington Square, because it is about a timid woman that could be seduced by a handsome man. The realistic part of this novel is the fact that Henry James, the author of Washington Square, depicts real life.

Walt Whitman’s poem, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, doesn’t only discuss the journey people take everyday by means of the ferry, but takes the experience, and give his own unique perspective. He talks about how it relates him to future generations because in a way we are all related. We are all one, and we are all having this big common experience. The commonality of humanity is exemplified through the people riding the ferry everyday, enabling Walt to ennoble the experience. The tone when describing this experience is pleasant, and he uses repetitive words to say that the experience is beautiful.

During the 1860’s in the U.S, the Civil War happens, and the society as a whole as a result of the war, is quite confused because of the emancipation of slavery. The economy has to be reworked because it was heavily based on slavery and these once enslaved individuals, now go to the north to look for jobs. This imagined grace in the South suddenly, goes away, and the people who want to stay and work the land have to get a hold of it. The industrial aspect of the United States consists of: factories, mechanized labor, and the farm equipment is more sophisticated. Community is based on the urban capitalist system. The fact that these men and women who are now not oppressed anymore visiting the city and seeing big factories is quite cool and awesome to think about. Whitman elevates it in his poetry and at the same time he is creating imagery that is the equivalence of the beauty of the farmland. His poetry creates an idealized image of America that is made by the working person. I was surprised to find out that Walt is a gay man. But, he is a very big guy with an extraordinary face, representing both realism and idealism.

Whitman’s poetry, image, and idealism are larger than life; he is a very ecstatic man. When people started talking about the idea of homosexuality, Walt was represented as a quandary. He couldn’t be open about his sexuality, so Mr. Whitman put it in his poetry. In Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, he is symbolically addressing people on the ferry, (close distant), and also talks of future riders and clouds of the west (far distance). As one can see, there is a two-pronged perspective, which brings depth. With his words, he is creating a double landscape and by using repetition it makes his ideas very powerful and personal. After we finished discussing Walt Whitman’s life and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, we heard a song by, Bob Dylan called, “Hard Rains Are A-Falling,” and through the repetition of sounds, I was able to draw a distinct connection with this song to Walt Whitman’s work. I am starting to develop a liking for poetry, and I’m looking forward to studying it more and more.