discussion Questions | Coursehero Helper
Im stuck on a English question and need an explanation.
this assignment need to read a story, answer questions. then read others answers, then reply other’s answers.
Click on the following link and choose one of the discussion questions to answer.
https://americanliterature.com/song-of-myself-stud…
?? Each initial post will be evaluated based on the following:
??It consists of one or two detailed, well-written paragraphs and is a minimum of 300 words in length (using Microsoft Word word count). Dont forget to spellcheck and proofread.
?? Your replies do more than simply agree or say some form of good job. Instead your replies explain why you agree or why your classmate did a good job. Replies attempt to take an idea further or approach a topic from a new direction. In other words, it adds meaning to the discussion.
?? Your replies to at least two classmates are 100 words or more.
student 1:
1. Describe the meaning of Transcendentalism (Links to an external site.) and why Song of Myself (Links to an external site.) typifies the genre.
Transcendentalism is built on Immanuel Kants philosophy of distinction of individuals between reason and understanding. Reason is the ability to follow instincts and emotions, and understanding is the use of intelligence as artificially imposed by society. Transcendentalists believed that people should transcend the limits of intelligence and go beyond society’s limits to allow emotions to flow freely. Because of this Transcendentalists valued morality, and since the government infringed on the rights of individuals they believed that the government had no legitimate authority. Transcendentalists emerged because of rapid economic development. They feared for the natural world because they believed that it would soon be depleted and because they believed in communion between individuals and nature. They wanted to save nature because to them it was the sole source of deep personal human inspiration. If separate, humans would lose a substantial amount of their humanity. This idea of preservation previewed environmental movements in the future. There are major tenets of transcendentalism, including how nature can bring people closer to God, that we are creatures of God so we are divine, and society is the source of corruption.
Song of Myself typifies this genre because it reflects the self on the diverse people in the society. There is many instances of nature imagery, such as “summer grass,” “form’d from this soil, this air,” and “echoes, ripples, buzz’d whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine.” There is one section that stands out that are sentences of many different people and professions. Walt Whitman treats everyone the same, and everyone fits in to the community. Even a prostitute is not out of place or does not belong. On the other hand, the President is not any better than the rest of the community. Whitman claims to be like all these people, and they are all like him. Song of Myself shows the power of nonconformity. It is almost liberating because the poem incorporates a little bit of everything that organically grows out of itself.
student 2:
3.) Discuss how Whitman created a new form of modern poetry about “self” as its sole subject. What do you think of his assertion that the poet and poem are the same? And his indictment of pretentious poetry in favor of his “down to earth” approach
I would say Walt Whitman is a very innovative man because he created a new form of poetry called transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that started in the 1830s with the belief that the most important reality is what is sensed or what is intuitive, rather than what is thought such as scientific knowledge. This basically meant that a person can believe that you can be connected to the world or yourself by what is felt or you can be connected to the world by what is fact. Whitman used it so much that he kind of became a regular theme in his poems. It got so big and famous that it became a new style of writing. I think transcendentalism became affiliated about self because the definition is geared toward being in touch with self sense and self awareness.
I think the assertion was a little confusing because in the literal text, a poem and a poet can not be the same. In a transcendentalism text, it can be referred that the poem embodies the poet and how the poet feels. So I can understand what Whitman meant when he asserted that the poet and poem are the same. The only thing is I don’t know if he does a good job expressing it through his poems.
Overall, I understand what Walt Whitman is trying to convey but I have yet to see work that can back up his points. I understand transcendentalism but I am not sure how is used in poems.
