"Hot toward one I hate, ready in my madness to knife him;"
"You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life."
The first line is not necessarily a favorite, but it sparked the most obtainable thought while reading the poem. As a writer, a current fear of mine is not being able to capture humanity in... any way. Here, Whitman reveals an understanding of the human race: that we obtain the emotion of hate. It would be easy for someone upon writing a poem about, to put it lamely, acceptance to only address the good and civil side of humanity and nature in order to persuade the reader toward some sort of opinion. Whitman isn't trying to persuade anybody, and we see that in this line. He is trying to reveal his ideology behind existence, and in doing so, does not deny the human as a whole. "...ready in my madness to knife him;" What a startling frame of emotion, but very real. And the placement of the line is what I admired the most, for it is part of a vision he sees, I believe to be his perfect reality, or dream existence, which he is basically saying already exists.
The second line is one of those cheesy, self-inspiring favorites that is used to motivate etc. One could take it on a surface level of 'follow your dreams' or 'start living your life' but I think Whitman isn't trying to advocate change here. He is trying to say that we must make it a habit to enjoy what already exists in our lives. Everything "dazzles" the way it is, it just takes attention, "the light," to appreciate and find it. Open up to the possibility of greatness. If we really are all the same and connected.. then we are as great as the greatest person we individually believe to exist, so the 'greatness' is already there, we just have to pay attention to it and understand.
First, I enjoy that you picked such opposing lines. It helps to display what you mentioned in the first paragraph, that Whitman portrays the human as a whole. With the inclusion of the first line you posted, Whitman proves that he isn't shying away from any human emotion. He spends the majority of the poem discussing tranquility and happiness (and what he believes to be perfection), but he also mentions madness, sadness, and passion (for sex).
ReplyDeleteThe second line you chose is one that I always passed by with the same regard as you mentioned in the first sentence of that paragraph. However, your analysis of that particular line has helped me gain more appreciation for what Whitman is trying to express. Relating something that "dazzles" and "the light" that is put on it to the way that life's enjoyments are made better by paying attention to them is very profound.
I like the contrasting lines as well. Yes, the second is kind of cheesy - - mainly through repetition. But, I like the word W. uses - -"dazzle." What does that mean exactly? What kind of state are we in when we're dazzled? What kind of vision do we enjoy then?
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