Essay Disparate Objects in Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass

Reconciling Disparate Objects in Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman begins this excerpt from Leaves of Grass by describing an elusive this: This is the meal pleasantly set . . . . this is the meat and drink for natural hunger. These two clauses that are set next to each other describe this as very different things. A meal pleasantly set, evokes a quiet table in a genteel household. In contrast, the meat and drink for natural hunger, recalls a more rugged table at which the food will be consumed after strenuous activity. How can one thing--this--have such opposing properties? The entire excerpt is defined by the outward contradictions such as this one. Whitmans poetic rhetoric, however, attempts to create an†¦show more content†¦. . . this is the murmur of yearning. The contrast here is between the corporeal sensation referenced in the first clause, and the more internal emotive sensation expressed in the second clause. Two contrasting ideas again appear in the larger theme of the excerpt. In the beginning he makes a list of people with very different characteristics, and says that he will make appointments for all. The inclusivity of the early moments is in sharp contrast to the exclusivity of the last line of the excerpt where he says, I might not tell everybody but I will tell you. On the largest scale, Whitman creates a contrast in the structural elements of the poem. The poem begins with a disorganized array of clauses†¹some set around ellipses, some standing alone. There is no consistency in the meter, which makes it feel more like one of the catalogues Whitman frequently uses. On the other end of the poem, the last two lines are structured as a neat couplet. He explicitly seeks to unify all of these contrasts when, after the cataloguing first stanza in which he has mentioned so many objects, he explains, There shall be no difference between them and the rest. Whitman perpetuates this idea in a much more fundamental and convincing way†¹through his poetic rhetoric. Whitmans famous catalogues are the first step in creating this unity. By placing seemingly disparate things next to each other and by recognizing no difference other than that