Walt Whitman sure liked Alcohol!
When reading, or attempting to read Walt Whitman's notebook, I couldn't make out very much. (I can barely make out my own handwriting). However, I found myself going through the drawings in the notebook. It looks like he was a pretty good artist, and these self-portraits definitely depict that. There's one of his side profile, one with a freakishly large head, and it looks like his hats just keep getting bigger and bigger as the notebook progresses.
These images give a pretty good insight about himself, particularly about how others perceive him. But what does the hat symbolize? I did some research on what a top hat represents, and it says that it's supposed to express power, authority, and containment of thought. Maybe the size progression of the hat represents how he expressed his thoughts less vocally towards the end of his life, and more into his poetry. Maybe he just liked big hats.
Even though in the commentary it says that Whitman never doodled or sketched these images himself in his notebook, I genuinely felt like he was the one who drew the harp, shown on page 16. Whitman was passionate about his poetry, and as it says in the commentary, the harp is an emblem of poetry, which leads me to believe that it was him, not someone else, who drew it. After I finished reading the notes about his notebook, I made some weird connections. (I know this sounds pretty far fetched, but bear with me).
Apollo is the god of music and poetry, which are referenced extensively in his notebook, but there's another prominent quality about him: he's the god of medicine. Throughout the commentary, Whitman is commonly referenced in that context, like when it says "still the bohemian, not yet the nurse". Even though he shows qualities of the god, Apollo was beardless, and Whitman sure isn't. But, this whole aspect of him being viewed as a "healer" is intruguing. His poetry is far beyond amazing, and perhaps this connection Whitman establishes with the reader was intended to help us with our own struggles throughout life.
One example of this could have been in "For You", which we read in class. In the poem, Whitman makes the reader feel good about themselves when it feels like the whole world is against them. I think that he chose to send this message because he was raised in a time when he wasn't very accepted, as his poetry portrays himself as homosexual or bisexual. Therefore, by including these heart-warming passages in his poetry, he assures that the reader will have someone there for them.
These images give a pretty good insight about himself, particularly about how others perceive him. But what does the hat symbolize? I did some research on what a top hat represents, and it says that it's supposed to express power, authority, and containment of thought. Maybe the size progression of the hat represents how he expressed his thoughts less vocally towards the end of his life, and more into his poetry. Maybe he just liked big hats.
Even though in the commentary it says that Whitman never doodled or sketched these images himself in his notebook, I genuinely felt like he was the one who drew the harp, shown on page 16. Whitman was passionate about his poetry, and as it says in the commentary, the harp is an emblem of poetry, which leads me to believe that it was him, not someone else, who drew it. After I finished reading the notes about his notebook, I made some weird connections. (I know this sounds pretty far fetched, but bear with me).
Apollo is the god of music and poetry, which are referenced extensively in his notebook, but there's another prominent quality about him: he's the god of medicine. Throughout the commentary, Whitman is commonly referenced in that context, like when it says "still the bohemian, not yet the nurse". Even though he shows qualities of the god, Apollo was beardless, and Whitman sure isn't. But, this whole aspect of him being viewed as a "healer" is intruguing. His poetry is far beyond amazing, and perhaps this connection Whitman establishes with the reader was intended to help us with our own struggles throughout life.
One example of this could have been in "For You", which we read in class. In the poem, Whitman makes the reader feel good about themselves when it feels like the whole world is against them. I think that he chose to send this message because he was raised in a time when he wasn't very accepted, as his poetry portrays himself as homosexual or bisexual. Therefore, by including these heart-warming passages in his poetry, he assures that the reader will have someone there for them.
Hey Caroline! Greta blog! I loved how you separated it into various sections, making it easy to follow. Also, I really liked the tone! You asked multiple questions and made it seem as though you were speaking directly to the reader, which make it interesting to read. You did a great job of analyzing Whitman's notebook and expressing all of your thoughts and ideas. I also liked how you discussed Apollo the God and gave a little bit of background. To improve this post you could have included a little more observations discussing more themes and ideas, but overall, great job!!
ReplyDeleteThis was good. It was nice to see how you separated steps 1 and 2; defiantly, bettered your organization. Also, your connection to Apollo was pleasing to see #latin. I wish I had noticed that earlier.Next time, it be nice to see the pages you were referencing just to help clarify your analysis. Overall, great job.
ReplyDeleteC-Lew! I enjoyed reading your blog post about Whitman's notebook-- what you noticed and the connections you made. The separation of each section made it easier for me to follow as it gets confusing when writing is all over the place. Also, it was helpful to include one of his poems for reference. Keep up the good work!
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