Good job yesterday, guys. You all are cracking me up! Remember, with poetry it's all about tone. Think about the tone that the poem is trying to convey. Poems aren't always literal or straightforward in tone.
Full of Life Now
by Walt Whitman
FULL of life, now, compact, visible,
I, forty years old the Eighty-third Year of The States,
To one a century hence, or any number of centuries hence,
To you, yet unborn, these, seeking you.
When you read these, I, that was visible, am become invisible;
Now it is you, compact, visible, realizing my poems, seeking me;
Fancying how happy you were, if I could be with you, and become your comrade;
Be it as if I were with you. (Be not too certain but I am now with you.)
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Um, what? Whitman is a beast and all, but this is just confusing. I think maybe he might be talking about maybe the grand scheme of things. Like how we are all insignificant or something and our time will pass. I dunno that's just my two bits.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Wilson
Whitman sounds like he talking about when he dies his poems will find us and we will read them and this cycle will continue on.
ReplyDelete~Victoria Naatz
It seems to me that Whitman is pondering the timelessness of poetry, which is a cool concept. Though he is now dead we are reading his thoughts and, when we are dead, people will still be reading his thoughts just as we are now. He lives on through his poem and in it he is wondering what it would be like to be able to get to know everyone who reads it just as they are getting to know him.
ReplyDelete~Allison Bouslog
To me it seems like Whitman is saying how a poem is something a person of the past wrote. How they could have been all strong and alive, but now they are older, or even dead, and now a new person is reading what his past self said. I think this is about poems being there forever and are always in their prime.
ReplyDeleteMary Eisenhower
I think that Whitman is trying to say that when you read his poem, no matter how much you want to, you will never actually find out the meaning that he intended, because he is gone. It is ambiguous.
ReplyDelete--Katie Toth
I get it! HAH! Wooo!
ReplyDeleteWhitman is talking about how he exists right now, as he writes this poem. When he writes this poem, our country is young, and he mentions the people yet unborn.
When we read his poems, he will be dead (invisible), and we will be visible (alive). It seems like Whitman is trying to say that we are going to take our country's life in hand after he dies. He repeats "compact" and "visible" from the beginning of his poem.So it's like saying that we need to take charge and lead our country, perhaps?
Perhaps how he says that he would be with us, reminds us to retain our original values back in the earlier years of our country?
It might not seem like Whitman is talking about the history of our country. But doesn't it seem odd to mention that the US is 83 years old at the time?
That's my two cents on the poem. Still being a transcendentalist. Woo! Go the minority!
- Shannon Nguyen
PS: Poetry ftw. =]
Obviously Walt Whitman is a god from American Gods. He possesses the 16th charm that confuses the heck out of students who read his works. haha just kidding. Shannon Nguyen, you make it a lot clearer. And to answer you question about: "I, forty years old the Eighty-third Year of The States," all that means is that Walt Whitman was 40 years old when he wrote the poem(83 years after the creation of the US). declaration of independence at 1776 plus 83 years is July 4 1859. Walt Whitman was born May 31 1819. That's 40 years.
ReplyDeleteLife is nothing without math.
--Philip Wolfe
I think this poem is about how his poems will influence generations and centuries to come. He may not be alive when we do read and learn from his poems, but he will live on through his poems. He mentions "visible" and "invisible" as life and death. He hopes that as we read his poems, we will seek his feelings and wonder what it would be like if he were with us today, as his poems are. In addition, he wants us to feel like we are getting to know the person he was by reading his poems when he says, "Be it as if I were with you." I'm not sure why he wrote it in such a confusing way though. Maybe he is trying to make a point or make it confusing to read so that we will think about it more.
ReplyDeleteWhitman is trying to say that although poets last a short period of time compared to countries, which in turn last shorter than the timeless words of poets. I think the death/invisible analogy is interesting too.
ReplyDeleteI also like this poem because it makes you think. I had to read it a couple of times to understand it. I think that every time I read it, I understand a little more of it.
ReplyDeleteI think Walt Whitman is saying that he believes that his poetry will last throughout the ages, so that people of future generations will still be able to read his work. He also seems to be saying that he is still present through his poetry, and by reading it, we are seeking to find and understand him better. It's a pretty cool concept once you think about it. :)
ReplyDelete-Kaitlyn Sabourin
Whitman brings an interesting point. I think he is saying that poetry is applicable to any time frame and is eternal, essentially. Although Whitman is dead, we are now reading it and when we die, even more will read what we just read and it is a continuous never ending cycle of reading Walt Whitman. Oh the timelessness of Sir Whitman. It is a very awesome concept to grasp. I had never thought about it before.
ReplyDeleteMelanie, I agree with you completely. That's why I really like this poem. It always gives me goosebumps. I have it taped to my desk so that I can always refer to it! :)
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is simply stating the fact that even though Whitman died, there are still many generations after him that read this poem and interpret it! This poem is more or less about the circle of life.
ReplyDeleteAt first I had no idea what this poem was saying, but once I read the comments I understood it. Whitman was visible and alive when he wrote the poem. When people like us read the poem he will no longer be alive, but we will still read the poem and try to understand it. I think this poem is about how poetry can be read and enjoyed forever.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the author is talking about the ability of poetry to transcend time. He is stating that by reading a poem, one can get a glimpse at the mind of the author, no matter who it is or when he lived.
ReplyDelete-Zhijian Xing
All true and valid points, guys. I think it's neat to think that years and years from now someone could read all this stuff we post on the Internet and know we were here and talking about Whitman! :)
ReplyDeleteI believe Whitman is helping us realize something we always do when we read a poem- trying to understand the poet himself and why a poet wrote the poem. I think he is telling us that he wants to be remembered by his poems and wishes he could be reading them with us.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this poem at first I was VERY confused, but then I realized that Whitman was just trying to help us understand the circle of life because no matter what life will always go on. People won't stop coming unless some freaky, major, life destroying event happens to the world and everyone dies, little babies are going to be born every day and we will just go on. Okay but that's never going to happen, but I just wanted to put it because Whitman is dead; but we still read his poetry and like he said "Be not too certain but I am now with you," even though it's kinda creepy it's true. We read his poem, so in the physical since he isn't here, but I think that in out brain he is...I really have no clue if that makes since or not to you guess but it makes since to me.
ReplyDelete-Maggie Peake
I don't understand this poem;; Did he wrote this before he dies? Is he saying that if he dies then only think that we can reminding him is his work?
ReplyDeleteAll right, here is what I think about this.
ReplyDeleteFULL of life, now, compact, visible,
I, forty years old the Eighty-third Year of The States,
First of all, Whitman is saying that he is whole and hale (at least of spirit), as well as giving us his age and that time in relation to a historical context. The extent in assigning the time seems to implicate some importance in it.
To one a century hence, or any number of centuries hence,
This, interestingly enough, seems to be a direct rebuttal of what was previously implied by saying that the time in which the poem is read is irrelevent, because it will be around for a good long time and read many times many of centuries after him.
To you, yet unborn, these, seeking you.
When you read these, I, that was visible, am become invisible;
Now it is you, compact, visible, realizing my poems, seeking me;
I really find these lines interesting and kind of flattering. First of all, Whitman names his audience in these lines, as though this poem/excerpt was meant specifically for all of us who come after as opposed to his contemporaries (I am quite sure Leaves of Grass was /not/ published post-mortem, but do correct me if I am wrong). I think it is very kind and incredibly courteous to single us out. It is ineteresting because under the surface of adressing us, he is making a point that poetry-and, to a lesser extent, literature-doesn have a time limit, or an expiration date, and that as long as there is someone, somewhere who is looking for it, it will simultaneously be looking for that someone. Inevitablity and such. Sort of what Melanie was saying.
Fancying how happy you were, if I could be with you, and become your comrade;
Be it as if I were with you. (Be not too certain but I am now with you.)
Whitman, for the record, if you are indeed here with me now, or later, or whatever the case may be, I'd like to be your comrade, too.
Speaking of being with you and now with you, I think he is saying that every time you read his poems, he is there reading them to you. You know how if you are reading a really good book, you feel as though you know the characters intimately? I think that is what Whitman is trying to accomplish. And in a way, he does, does he not? He left us his writings and philosophies that he may be friends with us. This poem as well as his other writings are his invitiation to us, each one giving one more tiny piece of of the man who was Walt Whitman.
As a whole, it makes me think two things. First of all, time isn't near as rigid and constraining as we think it is, as Whitman and other writers have obviously transcended time to share parts of themselves with us. Secondly, that we, too, should write or draw or create and leave little pieces for the people who come after us, and thus have a sort of never-ending chain of friendship (as cheesy as that sounds).
I think this poem is about a person's death who was known when they were alive, but that person was soon forgotten after their death.
ReplyDeleteLucero
This was kinda funny! At the beginning, he seemed to be fairly satirical, poking fun at the formality some of us (politicians!) give life: "...the Eighty-third Year of The States..." Then he sort of drops the thought of communicating to us despite the barriers of time. Even though at the time we weren't born and now he's dead, he can still communicate his thoughts! So cool. I would not object to being Whitman's comrade.
ReplyDeleteDidn't we read something in class by Whitman about this sort of "communication through poetry," or something to that effect?
Carley
Eh, but that seems to simple. He's using his poems, to reach out to us in a way we didn't think was possible. Which only proves that poems are timeless. Of course, meanings might be interpreted differently as time goes on, and things might seem more confusing to different generations, but through his work his ideals live on. I think we all want to create a legacy of our own, because we all want to be "famous." But unless you do something out of this world as an actor or politician or musician, you won't be remembered in the same way as an artist: be whether you paint with a brush or a typewriter. Your work is always open to interpretation, and therefore is born again... and again... and again. And so are you.
ReplyDeleteCarley
Haha I think this poem is somewhat funny. The funny part was at the end when he mentions that we would be happy if he was our friend. I definitely wish Whitman was my friend! :D
ReplyDeleteWe all leave our mark on this earth and that is how we live on, even after we die. When others discover what we have left behind, especially when it's through writing, they make a connection to us and to the others reading it. Whitman thinks that when we connect like this it shows our friendship.
ReplyDeleteI came across this discussion from nine years ago, after hearing this poem at events marking today, Whitman's 200th birthday. As the poem said, Whitman is still communing with us, and almost a decade on so are the members of this class, long since dispersed. All a reminder that things in life are always changing but poetry like Walt's is timeless and can reach us anywhere.
ReplyDelete