Assignments

 

FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, MAY 8, 10:00 a.m. to noon, regular classroom. Here are some guidelines for preparing and studying for the exam.

During the exam, you may use notes, the biographies, and the collections of poetry. I'll make the classroom computer available for online dictionaries, but you may also bring a dictionary with you if you'd prefer. Obviously, the best preparation for the exam is a semester's wide and careful reading in the poetry of Dickinson and Whitman; the more you've read of their work, the more comfortable and familiar you will be with the passages of poetry you'll be writing about.

Here are the instructions you will see on the exam for the essays on pairs of poems by Dickinson and Whitman: "You will be writing two brief but substantial essays on two of the following four pairs of passages of poetry. Each pair contains one poem by Dickinson and (part of) a poem by Whitman. Choose only two of the four pairs. Write your answers in the exam book, and be sure to number your answer to correspond to the number of the pair you choose. Your essays should examine the particular poems in some depth and indicate how they relate to Whitman's and Dickinson's overall poetic project. You should also investigate the relationships between the passages. What is significant about the similarities and differences in Whitman's and Dickinson's approaches to related subjects or ideas? The best essays will deal with the specifics of the poems by showing how the details fit into an overall reading that ties each poem to larger concerns of the poet. The best answers, too, will illuminate the relationships between the passages. There are some obvious relationships between each pair of passages, and also some less obvious ones. Try to work beyond the obvious. You may use notes, your Whitman and Dickinson texts, and dictionaries."

Here are some sample pairings:

--Dickinson's #376 ("Of Course-I prayed-") and Whitman's "Song of Myself," Section 48 ("And I say to mankind, Be not curious about God," p. 244). This pair would lead you to consider the way each poet constructs her or his relationship with God and examines how the two poets imagine communicating with God.

--Dickinson's #789 ("On a Columnar Self") and Whitman's "One's Self I Sing" (p. 165). This pair takes you in the direction of comparing the two poets' concepts of the individual self in relation to the societal self (the "crowd" or "en masse").

--Whitman's "Song of the Open Road," sections 1 and 2 (pp. 297-298) and Dickinson's #477 ("No man can compass a Despair"). This pair would lead you to explore the image of the "road" in both poets and what it comes to signify for each.

--Whitman's "To a Locomotive in Winter" (p. 583) and Dickinson's #585 ("I like to see it lap the Miles-"). This pair deals with the poets' reactions to a relatively new technological achievement, the railroad, which during their lives evolved from a clumsy experiment into a transcontinental network of previously unimaginable fast transportation (Dickinson's poem was written in the early 1860s, Whitman's in the mid-1870s).

--Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and any one of the following Dickinson poems: #605, 1138, 1167, 1275. How do spiders come to suggest key ideas for each poet?

--Dickinson's #690 ("Victory comes late-") and Whitman's "A Sight in the Daybreak Gray and Dim." This pair focuses on the Civil War and on the ideas of death and defeat-and on whatever solace religion can give-for soldiers killed in the war.

--Dickinson's #70 ("'Arcturus' is his other name-") and Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." This pair would lead you to compare the poets' uses of and attitudes toward advances in astronomy during their lifetimes.

--Whitman's "Song of Myself," Section 44, and Dickinson's #398 ("I had not minded-Walls-"). You figure out the relationship.

Here are the instructions you will see on the exam for Part 2 of the exam, the essay in which you will engage one of the biographers' reading of a poem: "You have now finished two long biographies of the poets. David Reynolds and Alfred Habegger both set out to give you a detailed look at the poet's life, to put that life in context, and also to give you an entry into the writings of the author they are focusing on. You have now read, written about, and discussed quite a few poems by both writers. In this essay, you will choose either Habegger or Reynolds, and you will engage that biographer's reading of a particular poem. A biographer has many things to attend to--recording the details of a life, setting the historical, cultural, and family context for the poet's life and writing, providing a chronology of growth and change--but ultimately a biography of a poet should provide a useful entry into reading the poet's work. So, for this essay, you will review the biography that you choose to engage, and you will find one place where the biographer offers a reading of a particular poem. You will describe how the biographer deals with the poem, what the methods and concerns of the biographer are as he provides an explication, and you will discuss what aspects of the poem those methods and concerns obscure or ignore. You will engage the reading of the poem by pointing out ways that the biographer's reading could be enhanced or deepened by considering other aspects of the poem. And you will conclude by discussing how your examination of a particular reading of a particular poem reveals some more general characteristics of the biographer's approach to his poet's work. You should choose a poem that you have not previously written on in one of your essays for this course. If you choose a poem that we have discussed in class, be sure your analysis does not simply repeat class discussion."

For Friday, May 4: We will discuss the final exam in detail, and I will give you a sheet with sample questions. We'll talk about strategies for studying for the exam as well as strategies for writing it. You should be reading around in both your Dickinson and Whitman collections--the more you read, the better prepared you'll be for the final exam (the final is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, 10:00 a.m. to noon, in our regular classroom). Remember, now that you've finished the Habegger and Reynolds biographies, to identify one place in both of the biographies where a particular poem is discussed and interpreted, a place where you now feel you can enter into a conversation with Reynolds or Habegger and suggest how their reading can be enhanced or deepened or argued with. One question on the final exam will ask you to write a short essay in which you do that. Today we will look at some of the four Dickinson poems in which she describes aspects of nature in quite religious language: #130 ("These are the days"), #258 ("There's a certain Slant of light"), #348 ("I dreaded that first Robin, so"), and #1068 ("Further in Summer than the Birds"). Are these religious poems, or, like Whitman, is Dickinson invoking religious language and imagery for another purpose? Also read very carefully #512 ("The Soul has Bandaged moments") and think about it in relation to all the Dickinson poems we have read this term. Bring your Dickinson Complete Poems to class. Your second poetry memorizations must be completed today.

For Wednesday, May 2: Your final quiz is today, covering the final chapter of Reynolds's biography of Whitman, and the final two chapters of Habegger's biography of Dickinson. We will finish talking about Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" (think about who Whitman's companions are who lead him into the swamp, called "the thought of death" and "the knowledge of death"). Whitman, in "Lilacs," uses the suggestive word "trinity," with its religious connotations, although the poem is stripped of religious comfort. Look at four Dickinson poems in which she describes aspects of nature in quite religious language: #130 ("These are the days"), #258 ("There's a certain Slant of light"), #348 ("I dreaded that first Robin, so"), and #1068 ("Further in Summer than the Birds"). Are these religious poems, or, like Whitman, is Dickinson invoking religious language and imagery for another purpose? Also read very carefully #512 ("The Soul has Bandaged moments") and think about it in relation to all the Dickinson poems we have read this term.

You should be reading around in both your Dickinson and Whitman collections--the more you read, the better prepared you'll be for the final exam, which we'll talk about this week (the final is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, 10:00 a.m. to noon, in our regular classroom). Remember, as you finish up the Habegger and Reynolds biographies, to identify one place in both of the biographies where a particular poem is discussed and interpreted, a place where you now feel you can enter into a conversation with Reynolds or Habegger and suggest how their reading can be enhanced or deepened or argued with. One question on the final exam will ask you to write a short essay in which you do that.

Your second poetry memorizations must be completed this week. If you have not yet signed up for a time to recite your poems (you will recite both your Whitman and Dickinson memorizations this time), be sure to do so in class today.

For Monday, April 30: This coming Friday, we will discuss the final exam in detail, and I will give you a sheet with sample questions. You should now be reading the final chapter of Reynolds's biography of Whitman and the final two chapters of Habegger's biography of Dickinson. Your final quiz will be on Wednesday. You should also be reading all the Dickinson poems that Habegger discusses in his biography, and you should be reading around in both your Dickinson and Whitman collections--the more you read, the better prepared you'll be for the final exam (the final is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, 10:00 am to noon, in our regular classroom). In preparation for the final exam, as you finish up the Habegger and Reynolds biographies, identify one place in each of the biographies where a particular poem is discussed and interpreted, a place where you now feel you can enter into a conversation with Reynolds or Habegger and suggest how their reading can be enhanced or deepened or argued with. One question on the final exam will ask you to write a short essay in which you do that. Meanwhile, for today carefully re-read Whitman's elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," an elegy that summarizes Whitman's ideas and feelings about the Civil War (on pp. 459-467 of the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume). Read the rest of the poems in the "Memories of President Lincoln" section (through p. 468). Pay special attention to the final two sections. Read those sections in the final version (as you have it in the Poetry and Prose book), and then read them in the original 1865 version, as they appeared in Sequel to Drum-Taps, available here. (If you click the little page icons at this site, you will get large images of the original pages from Sequel.) What changes do you see that Whitman made between the first and last versions? Are those changes important? How? Whitman, in "Lilacs," uses the suggestive word "trinity," with its religious connotations, although the poem is stripped of religious comfort. Look at four Dickinson poems in which she describes aspects of nature in quite religious language: #130 ("These are the days"), #258 ("There's a certain Slant of light"), #348 ("I dreaded that first Robin, so"), and #1068 ("Further in Summer than the Birds"). Are these religious poems, or, like Whitman, is Dickinson invoking religious language and imagery for another purpose? Bring the Whitman book to class with you.

For Friday, April 27: Carefully read Whitman's elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," an elegy that summarizes Whitman's ideas and feelings about the Civil War (on pp. 459-467 of the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume). Read the rest of the poems in the "Memories of President Lincoln" section (through p. 468). Pay special attention to the final two sections. Read those sections in the final version (as you have it in the Poetry and Prose book), and then read them in the original 1865 version, as they appeared in Sequel to Drum-Taps, available here. (If you click the little page icons at this site, you will get large images of the original pages from Sequel.) What changes do you see that Whitman made between the first and last versions? Are those changes important? How? Whitman, in "Lilacs," uses the suggestive word "trinity," with its religious connotations, although the poem is stripped of religious comfort. Look at four Dickinson poems in which she describes aspects of nature in quite religious language: #130 ("These are the days"), #258 ("There's a certain Slant of light"), #348 ("I dreaded that first Robin, so"), and #1068 ("Further in Summer than the Birds"). Are these religious poems, or, like Whitman, is Dickinson invoking religious language and imagery for another purpose? Bring the Whitman book to class with you. We'll start discussing "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," and we'll continue to talk about the poems you discussed in small groups on Wednesday: moderators should be ready to summarize the most illuminating ideas that emerged in the small groups, and also to raise any questions that the small groups couldn't answer. You should now be reading the final chapter of Reynolds's biography of Whitman and the final two chapters of Habegger's biography of Dickinson. Your final quiz will be on Wednesday. You should also be reading all the Dickinson poems that Habegger discusses in his biography, and you should be reading around in both your Dickinson and Whitman collections--the more you read, the better prepared you'll be for the final exam, which we'll talk about next week (the final is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, 10:00 am to noon, in our regular classroom). In preparation for the final exam, as you finish up the Habegger and Reynolds biographies, identify one place in each of the biographies where a particular poem is discussed and interpreted, a place where you now feel you can enter into a conversation with Reynolds or Habegger and suggest how their reading can be enhanced or deepened or argued with. One question on the final exam will ask you to write a short essay in which you do that.

For Wednesday, April 25: Second essays due today; details here. We will work in small groups today, continuing to discuss Drum-Taps. Re-read the poems mentioned for the previous assignment; groups will discuss the questions listed below. Bring your Whitman book. Also, carefully read Whitman's elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," an elegy that summarizes Whitman's ideas and feelings about the Civil War (on pp. 459-467 of the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume); read the other poems in the "Memories of President Lincoln" cluster (pp. 467-468).

Here are questions to think about for the small group discussions:

* We want to think today about how Whitman responds to ideas of defeat and victory. Dickinson, we've seen, identifies with the defeated, with the survivor who, ironically, can taste victory more intensely than the victorious. Think about Whitman's "The Wound-Dresser." How does Whitman react to being the survivor, the one who lives on after those he has nursed dies? Does he feel "shame" as Dickinson does? Why or why not? What is it that "remains" for Whitman after the war? Why does he construct the poem so that the narrator is an old man telling this experience to children? Why his emphasis on "hinged knees"? We've talked about Whitman's use of parentheses; note his use of them in this poem. What is the effect of the parenthetical passages? Why does he end the poem with two parenthetical lines? Does Whitman address the concept of victory and defeat in this poem?

* Look at the short poem just before "The Wound-Dresser," "Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me." Here Whitman directly addresses defeat; what is defeat teaching him?

* Can you find any poem in Drum-Taps that gives an image of a battlefield victory or defeat? What are the implications of what you find when you search for such poems?

* As you think of victory and defeat in the war, what do you make of "Reconciliation" (p. 453)? What are "the hands of the sisters Death and Night" and what are they doing? What is the significance of the final act in this poem? What do you make of the double emphasis on "white face"?

* Look at "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" (p. 451); who is the narrator of this poem? What does the narrator think of the old black woman? We hear the old woman's voice in three lines: what is striking about these lines, about her voice, about the word she cannot speak? What is the answer to the speaker's final question?

* In "Look Down Fair Moon," Whitman portrays the dead on the battlefields, evoking the Mathew Brady photographs of the Civil War dead. How is Whitman's description different from Dickinson's description of the dead soldiers in "My Portion is Defeat--Today"?

Small groups and moderators will be as follow:

Group One:
Denise Behrens
David Block
John Bovard
Haleigh Brockman
Tasha Byrne
Joseph Cavaliere, Moderator
Sandy Clasen

Group Three:
Andrew Deloucas
Cody Gordon
Amanda Herrera, Moderator
Alex Grapp
Kenneth Hoover
Katie Priske

Group Two:
Jeremy Hahn
Megan Martens
Vincent Peiffer, Moderator
Jessica Meyer
Amanda Rossmiller
Alex Strong

Group Four:
Gwendolyn Stanley
Dallas Thompson
Michael Toner
Cal Valenta
Elle Wignall, Moderator
Emily Seiple

 

For Monday, April 23: Quiz on Chapter 20 ("1870-1878: Wisdom That Won't Go on Sale") in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and Chapter 15 ("The Burden of Atlas") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. Continue working on your essays; details here. We will continue talking about Whitman's "Come Up from the Fields Father" (pp. 436-438). Consider how Whitman's own experience in the hospitals writing letters for soldiers who could not themselves write the letters (because of their wounds) feeds into the experience he imagines in this poem of a mother receiving a letter from her son that is not in his own hand. We will break into small groups to continue discussing Whitman's Civil War poems: look especially at "Beat! Beat! Drums!" (pp. 419-420), "Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me" (442), "The Wound-Dresser" (442-445), "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" (451), "Look Down Fair Moon" (453), and "Reconciliation" (453).

Here are questions to think about for the small group discussions:

* We want to think today about how Whitman responds to ideas of defeat and victory. Dickinson, we've seen, identifies with the defeated, with the survivor who, ironically, can taste victory more intensely than the victorious. Think about Whitman's "The Wound-Dresser." How does Whitman react to being the survivor, the one who lives on after those he has nursed dies? Does he feel "shame" as Dickinson does? Why or why not? What is it that "remains" for Whitman after the war? Why does he construct the poem so that the narrator is an old man telling this experience to children? Why his emphasis on "hinged knees"? We've talked about Whitman's use of parentheses; note his use of them in this poem. What is the effect of the parenthetical passages? Why does he end the poem with two parenthetical lines? Does Whitman address the concept of victory and defeat in this poem?

* Look at the short poem just before "The Wound-Dresser," "Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me." Here Whitman directly addresses defeat; what is defeat teaching him?

* Can you find any poem in Drum-Taps that gives an image of a battlefield victory or defeat? What are the implications of what you find when you search for such poems?

* As you think of victory and defeat in the war, what do you make of "Reconciliation" (p. 453)? What are "the hands of the sisters Death and Night" and what are they doing? What is the significance of the final act in this poem? What do you make of the double emphasis on "white face"?

* Look at "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" (p. 451); who is the narrator of this poem? What does the narrator think of the old black woman? We hear the old woman's voice in three lines: what is striking about these lines, about her voice, about the word she cannot speak? What is the answer to the speaker's final question?

* In "Look Down Fair Moon," Whitman portrays the dead on the battlefields, evoking the Mathew Brady photographs of the Civil War dead. How is Whitman's description different from Dickinson's description of the dead soldiers in "My Portion is Defeat--Today"?

Small groups and moderators will be as follow:

Group One:
Denise Behrens
David Block
John Bovard
Haleigh Brockman
Tasha Byrne
Joseph Cavaliere, Moderator
Sandy Clasen

Group Three:
Andrew Deloucas
Cody Gordon
Amanda Herrera, Moderator
Alex Grapp
Kenneth Hoover
Katie Priske

Group Two:
Jeremy Hahn
Megan Martens
Vincent Peiffer, Moderator
Jessica Meyer
Amanda Rossmiller
Alex Strong

Group Four:
Gwendolyn Stanley
Dallas Thompson
Michael Toner
Cal Valenta
Elle Wignall, Moderator
Emily Seiple

For Friday, April 20: We're now discussing Whitman's Drum-Taps poems. For today, write a short paragraph about that section of "A March in the Ranks" that we began discussing on Wednesday. Focus on the two lines--"At my feet more distinctly a soldier, a mere lad, in danger of bleeding to death, (he is shot in the abdomen,) / I stanch the blood temporarily, (the youngster's face is white as a lily,)"--and write about how these lines work, how they relate to other aspects of the poem, what they show us about Whitman's poetic artistry during the Civil War. I'll collect these today, but the main purpose is to get you to articulate some ideas about the passage so that you can take part in discussing ways of opening the poem up. We will also look at "Come Up from the Fields Father" (pp. 436-438). Continue working on your essays; details here. Please note they are due next Wednesday (April 23), not on Monday. On Monday there will be a quiz on Chapter 20 ("1870-1878: Wisdom That Won't Go on Sale") in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and Chapter 15 ("The Burden of Atlas") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman.

For Wednesday, April 18: We will continue to look at Dickinson's Civil War poems, and we'll conclude talking about #639 (read it again, keeping in mind what we talked about on Monday). Continue working on your essays; details here. The class sessions this week are especially vital for preparing to write this essay. We will continue talking about Whitman's Drum-Taps poems, starting today with "Come Up from the Fields Father" (pp. 436-438). Consider how Whitman's own experience in the hospitals writing letters for soldiers who could not themselves write the letters (because of their wounds) feeds into the experience he imagines in this poem of a mother receiving a letter from her son that is not in his own hand. On Friday, we will break into small groups to continue discussing Whitman's Civil War poems: look especially at "Beat! Beat! Drums!" (pp. 419-420), "Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me" (442), "The Wound-Dresser" (442-445), "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" (451), "Look Down Fair Moon" (453), and "Reconciliation" (453). Your biographical reading for this week is Chapter 20 ("1870-1878: Wisdom That Won't Go on Sale") in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and Chapter 15 ("The Burden of Atlas") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. Quiz on this material will be next Monday.

For Monday, April 16: Your second essay assignment is available here. The essay will be due Wednesday, April 23, in class. We will look at a couple of more Dickinson Civil War poems together and then will begin discussing Whitman's Drum-Taps. We will begin by discussing "A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown." Read that poem through carefully. Think about the ways that what the poet describes was "a sight beyond all the pictures and poems ever made," a sight so horrifying that it requires the very unpoetic language of "shot in the abdomen," whispered in parentheses. Think through the way that long flowing sentence (the whole poem is one sentence) captures the march of the soldiers. Look at Whitman's original Civil War notebook, where he jots down the incident this poem is based on, just as the soldier, Milton Roberts, tells it to him in the hospital ward. That notebook is available here. Keep leafing through this notebook and read the entire incident, and consider what Whitman adds to it in order to turn the incident into a poem. Look at Whitman's other Civil War notebook as well, available here. These Civil War notebooks, housed at the Library of Congress, offer amazing insights into how Whitman was working to record his experiences of nursing thousands of wounded soldiers while simultaneously making an effort to articulate that experience in poetry. Also read very carefully and think through "Come Up from the Fields Father," and consider how Whitman's own experience in the hospitals writing letters for soldiers who could not themselves write the letters (because of their wounds) feeds into the experience he imagines in this poem of a mother receiving a letter from her son that is not in his own hand. Now is a good time to go over to Special Collections in the Main Library and look at the original Drum-Taps volume. Try reading these poems in the original. The original volume is also available on the Walt Whitman Archive, here. Using this link, you can leaf through the entire volume, along with Sequel to Drum-Taps, where "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd" and "O Captain! My Captain!" were first published. (Click on the thumbnail illustrations of each page in order to see the poems as they were originally printed.) Your biographical reading for this week is Chapter 20 ("1870-1878: Wisdom That Won't Go on Sale") in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and Chapter 15 ("The Burden of Atlas") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. Quiz on this material will be next Monday. Bring your Dickinson Complete Poems to class today.

For Friday, April 13: Quiz on Chapter 19 of Habegger's biography of Dickinson and Chapter 14 of Reynolds's biography of Whitman. Bring your Dickinson Complete Poems to class. We can talk about another marriage poem if you'd like, or we can move into her Civil War poetry. You've now looked at websites on Dickinson and the Civil War: this one and this one and this one too. You are reading extensively in the Civil War-era Dickinson poems (the ones dated between 1861 and 1865) and focusing intensively on 67 (a pre-war poem), 286, 409, 639, 658, 690, 724, 1188, 1227 (a post-war poem). We'll work our way through several of these amazing Civil War poems; as you read her poems of 1861-1864, look for examples of poems that respond to the war. Read particularly closely for today #444 ("It feels a shame to be Alive--") and #639 ("My Portion is Defeat--today--"). Your second essay assignment is available here. The essay will be due Wednesday, April 23, in class.

For Wednesday, April 11: We will talk about Dickinson's marriage poems and think of them in relation to Whitman's "Calamus" and "Children of Adam" poems. Read again #249, #631, #732, and add #461 ("A Wife--at Daybreak I shall be"). Bring your Dickinson Complete Poems to class today. This week's reading in Habegger's biography is Chapter 19 ("1866-1870: Repose") and in Reynolds's biography Chapter 14; quiz on Friday. Read through Dickinson's Civil War poems (the poems dated 1861-1864), focusing on 67 (a pre-war poem), 286, 409, 639, 658, 690, 724, 1188, 1227 (a post-war poem). Make notes, look up words.

For Monday, April 9: Keep in mind that your second memorization must be completed before the end of classes (Friday, May 4). If you are memorizing Whitman this time, be sure you are memorizing twenty full lines (a line begins at the left-hand margin with a capital letter and proceeds to the end, no matter how many indented lines there are until the next poetic line begins over at the left-hand margin again). You may do the second memorization at any time between now and the last class (May 4); when you recite your second memorization, I will ask you also to recite your first one, so be sure to review your first memorization and make sure it's still fresh in your mind. The sooner you do this, the better: it will be one less thing to worry about at the end of the semester. Be sure to look at these websites on Dickinson and the Civil War: this one and this one and this one too. This week's reading in Habegger's biography is Chapter 19 ("1866-1870: Repose") and in Reynolds's biography Chapter 14 . There will be a brief quiz on this material on Friday. Bring your Dickinson book to class today. Think through the marriage poems we haven't yet discussed, especially #631 and #732; look also at #249 ("Wild Nights!"). Read through Dickinson's Civil War poems, focusing on 67 (a pre-war poem), 286, 409, 639, 658, 690, 724, 1188, 1227 (a post-war poem).

For Friday, April 6: Quiz over Chapter 13 of Reynolds and Chapter 18 of Habegger (the Civil War chapters of both biographies). We'll continue discussing the Calamus and Children of Adam poems in small groups, then gather together to talk about what you've discovered. Meanwhile, re-read Dickinson's poems about marriage. Compare Whitman's Calamus to Dickinson's poems on marriage: #199, #631, #732, #1072, #1737. We'll talk about her "wife" poems, so bring your Dickinson Complete Poems; we'll focus especially on #1737 (read it and read it and read it) and #631 ("Ourselves were wed one summer--dear--"). Look again at her "master" poems, like #754 ("My Life had stood"), which we've already discussed, and #492 ("Civilization--spurns--the Leopard!"). Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose to class for use in the small groups. Groups and moderators will remain the same as last time (see assigment below for details).

For Wednesday, April 4: We'll continue discussing the Calamus and Children of Adam poems in small groups, then gather together to talk about what you've discovered. Meanwhile, re-read Dickinson's poems about marriage. Compare Whitman's Calamus to Dickinson's poems on marriage: #199, #631, #732, #1072, #1737. We'll talk about her "wife" poems, so bring your Dickinson Complete Poems; we'll focus especially on #1737 (read it and read it and read it) and #631 ("Ourselves were wed one summer--dear--"). Look again at her "master" poems, like #754 ("My Life had stood"), which we've already discussed, and #492 ("Civilization--spurns--the Leopard!"). Read over again #732, #1072, and #1737. Add to the reading list of wife and marriage poems all the poems that Habegger discusses in Chapter 17 of his biography of Dickinson. Read "Drum-Taps" and "Memories of President Lincoln" (pp. 416-468 in Whitman's Poetry and Prose) and start thinking about how those poems indicate Whitman's changing conception of Leaves of Grass during the Civil War. This week you should read Chapter 13 ("My Book and the War Are One") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman and Chapter 18 of Habegger's biography of Dickinson ("1862-1865: The Fighting Years"); there will be a brief quiz over Chapter 13 of Reynolds and Chapter 18 of Habegger on Friday.

The questions the groups will discuss are in the assignment below. Small groups and moderators will be as follow:

Group One:
Denise Behrens
David Block
John Bovard
Haleigh Brockman
Tasha Byrne
Joseph Cavaliere
Sandy Clasen, Moderator

Group Three:
Sam Cochrane
Andrew Deloucas
Cody Gordon, Moderator
Amanda Herrera
Alex Grapp
Kenneth Hoover
Katie Priske

Group Two:
Jeremy Hahn
Megan Martens
Vincent Peiffer
Jessica Meyer, Moderator
Amanda Rossmiller
Alex Strong

Group Four:
Gwendolyn Stanley
Dallas Thompson
Michael Toner
Cal Valenta
Elle Wignall
Emily Seiple, Moderator

 

For Monday, April 2: In the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, you should finish reading Whitman's Specimen Days, pp. 713-803. There will be a brief quiz on Reynolds Chapter 12 and on the reading in Specimen Days. We will look together at the "Children of Adam" poem called "I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ," a small love poem (p. 266). Read it carefully and think about how the series of images works. We will also spend some time in small groups to consider the following questions:

1. What do you make of the title "Children of Adam"? Why is Whitman associating his most sensual poems of the body and procreation with the Judeo-Christian version of the creation of humans? Who are the children of Adam? How many poems in the cluster directly respond to the story of Adam, and how do those poems work. Look at the first and final poems especially and talk about how Whitman is using the story of Adam and Eve.

2. In "I Sing the Body Electric," at the end of Section 1, Whitman asks the striking question, "And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?" What do you make of his equating the body and the soul? What is the effect of Section 9, where Whitman extends his cataloging technique almost to absurdity, listing the parts of the body, and then concluding "O I say now these are the soul!" How do you respond to that list of body parts? What registers of diction do his names of body parts come from? (That is, are they medical terms? slang terms? formal terms? informal terms?) Why does Whitman take on the role of slave auctioneer and put the slaves' bodies on display? What is his point? The speaker of the poem at one point (section 7) takes over a slave auction from the auctioneer and begins to "auction" the body: what is happening in this section and section 8? Read through both sections and discuss the effect of this "auction." What is Whitman saying about slavery?

3. What are the connotations of the word "Calamus"? We looked at an image in class of the calamus plant, with its phallic spadix, but what else does "calamus" mean, and how does the term resonate through the cluster?

4. Choose any of the shorter "Calamus" poems and work through it together, commenting on what the poem is saying to you, as a reader, and about the American culture as a force of control, censorship, normalization. What is, for example, "the new city of Friends" (in "I Dream'd in a Dream")?

5. What connections can you make between the "Calamus" poems and Emily Dickinson's marriage poems? Read Dickinson's poems about marriage, and compare them to Whitman's Calamus poems. We've read some of the Dickinson marriage poems already, but focus on these: #199, #732, #1072, #1737. Which poems--Dickinson's or Whitman's--are more radical in their critiques of the state of democratic affection? Add to the reading list of wife and marriage poems all the poems that Habegger discusses in Chapter 17 of his biography of Dickinson.

For Friday, March 30: We will continue with small discussion groups talking about "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand" (pp. 270-271). Read the poem again, make notes, come prepared to probe what is going on. See the questions in the assignment below. Toward the end of class, we'll gather as a whole group to see what small groups have discovered. Meanwhile, finish reading chapter 12 of Reynolds, and pp. 713-803 of Whitman's autobiography, Specimen Days--quiz on that material on Monday.

For Wednesday, March 28: Well, we'll certainly finish our discussion of "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" today. Re-read the final section, and think about where the poem leaves us, after all the places it has taken us (across Brooklyn Ferry, through all the "roles" humans play and re-play in the endless revolving cycles of bodies that people the earth, to the "here" and "now" of the page of the poem in the moment we read it and the moment Whitman wrote it). Whitman opens the poem with what sounds like an address to the flood-tide (the East River), but we noted how the promiscuous English pronoun "you" keeps shifting and attaching itself to different things, including YOU the reader. At the end of the poem, the speaker uses "you" again: "You have waited, you always wait, you dumb, beautiful ministers, / We receive you with free sense at last. . . ." Write a few sentences about what you think these "dumb, beautiful ministers" are, and why. What are "ministers" (look the word up!). You're reading chapter 12 of Reynolds' biography of Whitman, and you are also reading Whitman's Specimen Days--his scattered autobiographical prose--in the Poetry and Prose, pp. 713-803 (quiz next Monday). The Whitman recording we listened to in class on Monday is available in its original form here. The Levi's ad that uses the recording is available here.

We will break into small groups to discuss "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand" (pp. 270-271). Read this poem carefully and make notes. Think about how it relates to "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." Once again, Whitman writes a poem about you, the reader, who literally holds your "Whitman" in your hands, while also evoking another "you," a partner who openly holds his hands, in defiance of the culture's conventions that frown on men displaying physical affection for one another. But in this poem, the poet seems to be warning the reader away, ending by telling you to "release me and depart on your way." Why? Read the poem aloud, and think about how it describes both the act of reading and the act of expressing physical affection. Look especially closely at the lines, "But these leaves conning you con at peril, / For these leaves and me you will not understand, / They will elude you at first and still more afterward, I will certainly elude you." How many ways can you read these lines? What does "con" mean? Is the meaning of "con" undergoing a change during Whitman's time? What is the effect of discovering that in this poem you (the reader) are the object of Whitman's scrutiny (instead of, as we would expect, the agent of scrutiny: that is, we normally think of the reader examining the poem, not vice versa)? You will discuss these and other questions about the poem in small groups.

Here are the discussion groups; the person randomly chosen as moderator will be responsible for guiding the discussion through the topics listed right after the groups:

Group One:
Denise Behrens
David Block
John Bovard
Haleigh Brockman
Tasha Byrne, Moderator
Joseph Cavaliere
Sandy Clasen

Group Three:
Sam Cochrane
Andrew Deloucas
Cody Gordon
Amanda Herrera
Alex Grapp, Moderator
Kenneth Hoover
Katie Priske

Group Two:
Jeremy Hahn
Megan Martens
Vincent Peiffer
Jessica Meyer
Amanda Rossmiller
Alex Strong, Moderator

Group Four:
Gwendolyn Stanley
Dallas Thompson
Michael Toner, Moderator
Cal Valenta
Elle Wignall
Emily Seiple

1. Read aloud "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand" (pp. 270-271); divide the poem up into sections and read it as a group, each member reading a section.

2. In "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand," Whitman writes another poem about "you," the reader, who literally holds your "Whitman" in your hands. But in this poem, Whitman seems to be warning the reader away, ending by telling you to "release me and depart on your way." Why the change in tone? Why is Whitman introducing the idea of "suspicion," the idea that reading his poems has "uncertain" results, "perhaps destructive" results, and that his poems will not "do good only, they will do just as much evil, perhaps more." What is going on here? Have you seen this kind of warning in "Song of Myself"? "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"?

3. Discuss how the poem works to evoke both the act of reading and the act of intimate physical affection. How is reading a physically intimate act?

4. Look especially closely at the lines, "But these leaves conning you con at peril, / For these leaves and me you will not understand, / They will elude you at first and still more afterward, I will certainly elude you." How many ways can you read these lines? What does "con" mean? Is the meaning of "con" undergoing a change during Whitman's time?

5. What is the effect of discovering that in this poem you (the reader) are the object of Whitman's scrutiny (instead of, as we would expect, the agent of scrutiny: that is, we normally think of the reader examining the poem, not vice versa)?

For Monday, March 26: We will finish our discussion of "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" (keep looking at the way verb tenses work in the rest of the poem--particularly in that last long catalog of sights and sounds on Brooklyn Ferry). As you think of what we have talked about with "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," look closely at "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand" (pp. 270-271), which you have already read as part of the "Calamus" cluster of poems. Once again, Whitman writes a poem about you, the reader, who literally holds your "Whitman" in your hands, while also evoking another "you," a partner who openly holds hands with a male poet, in defiance of the culture's conventions that frown on men displaying physical affection for one another. But in this poem, the poet seems to be warning the reader away, ending by telling you to "release me and depart on your way." Why? Read the poem aloud, and comment on how it describes both the act of reading and the act of expressing physical affection. Look especially closely at the lines, "But these leaves conning you con at peril, / For these leaves and me you will not understand, / They will elude you at first and still more afterward, I will certainly elude you." How many ways can you read these lines? What does "con" mean? Is the meaning of "con" undergoing a change during Whitman's time? What is the effect of discovering that in this poem you (the reader) are the object of Whitman's scrutiny (instead of, as we would expect, the agent of scrutiny: that is, we normally think of the reader examining the poem, not vice versa)? Read through the Calamus and Children of Adam clusters again. Why the title "Calamus"? Why the title "Children of Adam"? Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose volume to class. Your biographical reading this week will be chapter 12 of Reynolds' biography of Whitman, and you will also be reading Whitman's Specimen Days--his scattered autobiographical prose--in the Poetry and Prose, pp. 713-803. Specimen Days is Whitman's prose autobiography, made up of lots of small fragments. The first few pages are about his childhood and early years, then, beginning on p. 729, he begins to talk about his experiences during the Civil War. The Civil War section goes through p. 803. (If you are using a different edition of Specimen Days, start at the beginning of the book and read through to the section called "An Interregnum Paragraph.") Read these pages carefully: they constitute some of the best writing about the Civil War by any American author. There will be a quiz on the biographical (and autobiographical) reading a week from today.

For Friday, March 23: There will be a quiz today over chapters 16 and 17 of Habegger's biography of Dickinson and chapter 11 of Reynolds's biography of Whitman. This will be the first quiz of the second half of the semester. We will continue our discussion of Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" (pp. 307-313 in Whitman's Poetry and Prose). Read it carefully again, and make even more notes than you already have, keeping in mind what we discussed today about anaphora (literally, "carrying back"). Look up more words. Mark passages that you find particularly confusing. Think hard about the significance of Whitman's shifting use of verb tenses throughout the poem, and think about how that relates to the first verse paragraph of Section 2 of the poem, which, as we discussed, is a sentence fragment (about fragments which are never predicated). You are also reading "A Song for Occupations" (pp. 355-362), in both its late version andits earlier version in the 1855 Leaves of Grass (pp. 89-99), and you should be making notes about Whitman's changes: which version is most effective, and why? What is the significance of his revisions? And you are going back to the 1855 edition of Leaves and reading carefully the poem on pp. 107-117 in the Poetry and Prose volume; this poem later became entitled "The Sleepers." After reading the 1855 version, read the final version (542-551). Notice the changes that Whitman has made, including the deletion of the "Lucifer" section. Go to the Web resource called The Classroom Electric, where there is a site I created about "The Sleepers." Read through this site, including the various critical views of the poem. You should pick up from the "The Sleepers" site some of the key issues having to do with Whitman's revision of this poem. As we move on in Whitman, read his "Children of Adam" cluster (pp. 248-267 in the Poetry and Prose volume) and his "Calamus" cluster (pp. 268-287). Also read "Salut au Monde" and "Song of the Open Road" (pp. 287-307). Try reading these poems in their original versions in the 1860 Leaves of Grass, available on the Walt Whitman Archive here. You can click on the various poems from this table of contents and you can call up the original page images so you can see the amazing typeface in which these poems first appeared. In the 1860 edition, "Children of Adam" was called "Enfans d'Adam," "Calamus" is "Calamus," "Salut au Monde" is "Salut au Monde," and "Song of the Open Road" is "Poem of the Road." The "Children of Adam" poems are the ones that got Whitman in the most trouble during his lifetime; some of them were judged to be obscene. Also read the poem Whitman concludes his 1860 Leaves with--"So Long!" (pp. 609-612). Think of how it works as the concluding poem, and think of it in relation to the discussion we had about "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." "So Long!" is available on the Whitman Archive here in its 1860 version.

For Wednesday, March 21: Your essays are due in class today: details here. By Friday, read in Habegger's biography of Dickinson chapters 16 and 17. On Friday, there will be a quiz over Reynolds, chapter 11, and Habegger, chapters 16-17. In class today, we will discuss one of the great poems in the English language--Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" (pp. 307-313 in Whitman's Poetry and Prose). Read it carefully, and make notes. Look up words. Mark passages that you find particularly confusing. Think about the significance of Whitman's shifting use of verb tenses throughout the poem.

For Monday, March 19 (after spring break): Your essays are due in class today or Wednesday: details here. Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose volume with you to class this week. On Monday, we will finish talking about Dickinson's #754 ("My Life had stood"), and we will talk about Whitman's short poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" (p.409) in relation to Dickinson's short poem on astronomy (#1336, "Nature assigns the Sun"). Read Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" (pp. 307-313) and "A Song for Occupations" (pp. 355-362). For "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," pay particularly close attention to Section 2 and to Whitman's shifting use of verb tenses throughout the poem. Try to figure out what Whitman is saying about the nature of identity. Where does his "I" come closest to your "you" (the "you" that refers to you, the reader)? When you read "A Song for Occupations," read again its earlier version in the 1855 Leaves of Grass (pp. 89-99) and make note of his changes: which version is most effective, and why? What is the significance of his revisions? By Wednesday, read chapter 11 ("'The Murderous Delays': In Search of an Audience") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. Go back to the 1855 edition of Leaves and read carefully the poem on pp. 107-117 in the Poetry and Prose volume; this poem later became entitled "The Sleepers." After reading the 1855 version, read the final version (542-551). Notice the changes that Whitman has made, including the deletion of the "Lucifer" section. Go to the Web resource called The Classroom Electric, where there is a site I created about "The Sleepers." Read through this site, including the various critical views of the poem. You should pick up from the "The Sleepers" site some of the key issues having to do with Whitman's revision of this poem. By Friday, read in Habegger's biography of Dickinson chapters 16 and 17. On Friday, there will be a quiz over Reynolds, chapter 11, and Habegger, chapters 16-17.

For Friday, March 9: Quiz on this week's biographical reading: Chapters 14 and 15 of Habegger, Chapter 10 of Reynolds. We will finish talking about #199 ("I'm 'wife'")--think about the quotation marks again, and about the ways that our language polices patterns of behavior that we are to view as "natural." What is the "soft Eclipse"? Why does the poem end on the first perfect rhyme (compare/there) AND two exclamation points? We will also begin looking at #754 ("My Life had stood--a Loaded Gun"). Think of it in relation to the "I'm 'wife'" poem. Continue working on your essays. You now have copies of Dickinson's manuscripts for all three of the poems I've offered you for your essay; look them over carefully, and use these versions if they help you develop a reading of the poem you choose. You can find details of the paper assignment here. Again, I'd be happy to have essays turned in today, but if you want to carry the assignment over spring break, you can turn it in on the Monday or Wednesday after spring break.

For Wednesday, March 7: Continue working on your essays. You now have copies of Dickinson's manuscripts for all three of the poems I've offered you for your essay; look them over carefully, and use these versions if they help you develop a reading of the poem you choose. You can find details of the paper assignment here. Again, I'd be happy to have essays turned in this Friday, but if you want to carry the assignment over spring break, you can turn it in on the Monday or Wednesday after spring break. Remember that you are doing your memorization this week (either 28 lines of Dickinson or 20 (full) lines of Whitman. We will continue to look at some Dickinson poems and work through them in ways that should help you work out on your own an illuminating reading of the poem you decide to write your essay on. Read again #187 ("How many times these low feet staggered") and think of it in relation to the poem we discussed in class on Monday ("Because I could not stop for Death"). We'll then turn to the amazing (and amazingly complex) "My Life had stood--a Loaded Gun" (#754), another poem that will help us move our discussion of Dickinson's attitudes toward marriage (and death) forward. You should now be reading chapter 10 of Reynolds's biography of Whitman (on the 1855 Leaves of Grass) and chapters 14 and 15 of Habegger's biography of Dickinson; there will be a short quiz on Friday.

For Monday, March 5: Continue working on your essays; they are due in class on the Wednesday after spring break, but I'd be happy to have your essay before spring break--details here. If you have not yet signed up for a time to do your memorization, you can still sign up for a time today; you'll come in to my office (373 EPB) and recite the Whitman or Dickinson that you've memorized (20 lines of Whitman or 28 lines of Dickinson). We'll be working this week to continue figuring out how to read difficult Dickinson poems. Keep thinking about the death poems you read for last time (#822, #255, #187, #411, #280). Also read the amazing (and amazingly complex) "My Life had stood--a Loaded Gun" (#754). Think about what it means to be "carried away," about how the speaker gains her identity through an "owner" who can pull the trigger of an otherwise dormant and inanimate self). We will try to work out a developed reading of the whole poem, and decide what you can make of the riddle-like ending.

For Friday, March 2: Quiz today over Habegger's biography of Dickinson (chapters 12 and 13) and Reynolds's biography of Whitman (chapter 9). Bring your copy of Dickinson's Complete Poems to class with you. We will finish discussing Dickinson's #408 ("Unit, like Death, for Whom?"), one of her most challenging poems. Keep looking up words and working out a reading. Also consider some related death poems: #822 ("This Consciousness that is aware"), #255 ("To die--takes just a little while"), #187 ("How many times these low feet staggered"), #411 ("The Color of the Grave is Green"), #712 ("Because I could not stop for Death"), #531 ("We dream--it is good we are dreaming"), #280 ("I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"). Your first essay, working with a poem by Dickinson, will be due soon. You will find details about the poems to choose from, about strategies for writing the essay, and about resources that will help you, here.

For Wednesday, February 29: You're working on reading Habegger's chapters 12 and 13 as well as Reynolds's chapter 9; quiz over this reading on Friday. Bring your copy of Dickinson's Complete Poems to class with you. We will discuss Dickinson's #408 ("Unit, like Death, for Whom?"), one of her most challenging poems. Look up words; try to work out a reading. Write a paragraph (to be turned in) on some aspect of the poem--it might be one word and how that word opens up part of the poem for you. Or it might be the rhyme or meter, or the odd way the lines break. Focus on just one aspect of the poem and try to tease out the way that particular thing allows you to begin to understand what it going on in this very strange poem.

For Monday, February 27: We will discuss in detail Dickinson's #216 ("Safe in their Alabaster Chambers"); we will look at both versions that you have in the Complete Poems. Bring your copy of Dickinson's Complete Poems to class with you. Read both versions of #216 carefully and examine the differences between the versions. What effect do the changes make? Is one poem more optimistic about afterlife than the other? How and why? We will also be looking carefully at another death poem, #408 ("Unit, like Death, for Whom?"), one of her most challenging. Look up words; try to work out a reading. Continue reading the assignment listed for Friday, that long list of Dickinson's poems. Your biographical reading this week will be, in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, chapters 12 ("1850-1852: Somebody's Rev-e-ries") and 13 ("1852-1854: A Sheltered Life"), and, in Reynolds's biography of Whitman, chapter 9 on the visual arts. You should have this reading done by Friday. There will be a quiz on Friday. First memorizations are coming right up--they must be done by March 9 at the latest. I'll have a signup sheet this week for times to do your memorizations.

For Friday, February 24: We will be meeting today in the Special Collections classroom in the Main Library. COME TO THE MAIN LIBRARY, THIRD FLOOR, MIDDLE OF THE HALL. PLEASE TRY TO BE THERE RIGHT AT 10:30, so that we will have time to look through the Whitman editions of Leaves of Grass. This is a rare opportunity to get to handle original copies of Whitman's books, including the 1855 first edition. Meanwhile, continue working on the reading assignment that I gave you for Dickinson poems. Focus particularly on: 130, 185, 193, 199, 209, 213, 216 (both versions), 252, 269, 278, 280, 301, 303, 305, 313, 348, 398, 443, 465, 512, 632, 650, 670, 680, 712, 754, 872, 997, 1068, 1261, 1624. Read carefully these: 18, 49, 67, 115, 125, 128, 131, 160, 165, 167, 178, 182, 187, 211, 214, 241, 249, 258, 281, 285, 287, 288, 290, 298, 311, 315, 318, 322, 324, 326, 328, 332, 335, 338, 341, 365, 376, 378, 384, 386, 396, 401, 403, 407, 413, 414, 435, 437, 441, 448, 449, 474, 478, 501, 511, 520, 526, 528, 536, 544, 547, 549, 553, 566, 569, 585, 599, 624, 640, 657, 664, 675, 709, 721, 724, 742, 744, 761, 764, 813, 822, 829, 836, 856, 860, 861, 875, 883, 910, 913, 949, 976, 985, 986, 1026, 1046, 1052, 1055, 1056, 1072, 1075, 1078, 1082, 1129, 1136, 1176, 1207, 1212, 1243, 1255, 1276, 1304, 1333, 1354, 1393, 1400, 1433, 1452, 1463, 1474, 1501, 1509, 1519, 1540, 1545, 1551, 1587, 1593, 1651, 1670, 1672, 1695, 1716, 1732, 1755.

I know you all are working on your first memorizations (either 28 total lines by Dickinson or 20 by Whitman--and for Whitman, a single line may run over onto two or three lines of print, so be sure to count 20 FULL lines). You will need to do the memorizations by Friday, March 9, at the latest (you can do them any time before then). Next week I will give you a sign-up sheet for times to come in and do your memorization (you will recite your lines in my office, 373 EPB).

For Wednesday, February 22: There will be a brief quiz today on the biographical reading for the week (covering Reynolds, chs. 7 and 8, and Habegger, chs. 10 and 11). Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose to class. We will continue to talk about "Song of Myself," but I'd also like you to think about a Dickinson poem that is a kind of response to the "Twenty-eight young men" section of "Song of Myself"--poem #1430 ("Who never wanted--maddest Joy"). Read this poem, look up words in the Webster's and OED, and try to work out just what it is that Dickinson is suggesting about "Desire." Does this poem end up affirming or rejecting the image of desire in Whitman's poem? Begin now reading around more widely in the Dickinson poems. This week, work carefully through these poems: 130, 185, 193, 199, 209, 213, 216 (both versions), 252, 269, 278, 280, 301, 303, 305, 313, 348, 398, 443, 465, 512, 632, 650, 670, 680, 712, 754, 872, 997, 1068, 1261, 1624. Read carefully these: 18, 49, 67, 115, 125, 128, 131, 160, 165, 167, 178, 182, 187, 211, 214, 241, 249, 258, 281, 285, 287, 288, 290, 298, 311, 315, 318, 322, 324, 326, 328, 332, 335, 338, 341, 365, 376, 378, 384, 386, 396, 401, 403, 407, 413, 414, 435, 437, 441, 448, 449, 474, 478, 501, 511, 520, 526, 528, 536, 544, 547, 549, 553, 566, 569, 585, 599, 624, 640, 657, 664, 675, 709, 721, 724, 742, 744, 761, 764, 813, 822, 829, 836, 856, 860, 861, 875, 883, 910, 913, 949, 976, 985, 986, 1026, 1046, 1052, 1055, 1056, 1072, 1075, 1078, 1082, 1129, 1136, 1176, 1207, 1212, 1243, 1255, 1276, 1304, 1333, 1354, 1393, 1400, 1433, 1452, 1463, 1474, 1501, 1509, 1519, 1540, 1545, 1551, 1587, 1593, 1651, 1670, 1672, 1695, 1716, 1732, 1755. I know this looks like an overwhelming list (it is!), but for now you are reading through the poems (best to read them out loud) and then moving on, making some notes about the ones that particularly strike you or make you want to return to them to figure out what is going on.

For Monday, February 20: Continue reading the Dickinson poems dealing with death that I listed in the assignment for Friday: look up words, make notes. Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose to class. The moderators of the small group discussions on Friday should be thinking of what insights and questions emerged during your discussion of the "Twenty-eight young men" section of "Song of Myself," as well as the other sections you discussed; we'll look at those sections together, and I'll ask group moderators to summarize interesting insights and questions that arose in your discussions. Read in Habegger's biography of Dickinson chapters 10 ("Mount Holyoke Female Seminary") and 11 ("First Drunkenness"). There will be a brief quiz Wednesday on the biographical reading for the week (covering Reynolds, chs. 7 and 8, and Habegger, chs. 10 and 11).

For Friday, February 17: Mark on your calendars the date of the final exam for this class: Tuesday, May 8, 10:00 am to noon, in our regular classroom. Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose book with you to class. You should be reading in Reynolds's biography of Whitman chapters 7 ("Sex Is the Root of It All") and 8 ("Earth, Body, Soul: Science and Religion"). Begin to read carefully the following Dickinson poems dealing with death:#216 (both versions), #241, #255, #258, #280, #281, #301,#389, #408, #411, #432, #465, #531, #724, #829, #822, #860, #970, #1046, #1445. Read all of these carefully, look up words, make notes; focus particularly on #216, #408, #465, which we'll discuss in class next week.

We will break into small groups today to discuss parts of the first long poem ("Song of Myself") in the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. Here are the discussion groups; the person randomly chosen as moderator will be responsible for guiding the discussion through the topics listed right after the groups:

Group One:
Denise Behrens
David Block, Moderator
John Bovard
Haleigh Brockman
Tasha Byrne
Joseph Cavaliere
Sandy Clasen

Group Three:
Sam Cochrane
Andrew Deloucas
Cody Gordon
Amanda Herrera
Alex Grapp
Kenneth Hoover
Katie Priske, Moderator

Group Two:
Jeremy Hahn
Megan Martens
Vincent Peiffer
Jessica Meyer
Amanda Rossmiller, Moderator
Alex Strong

Group Four:
Gwendolyn Stanley, Moderator
Dallas Thompson
Michael Toner
Cal Valenta
Elle Wignall
Emily Seiple


Topics for discussion (think about these ahead of time, make notes, be prepared to offer thoughts to your group):

1. On p. 31, a child asks the narrator "What is the grass?" The answer goes on for the rest of that page and most of the next page. Discuss the nature of the answer the poet gives the child. How does the poet go about answering the childish question? Why does the answer end in a discussion of death? What does the poet mean on p. 32 when he says that "to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier?"

2. On p. 36, there is a kind of narrative within the poem, about a twenty-eight-year-old woman watching 28 young men bathe naked. Discuss this scene. Why does Whitman include it in the poem? What is the point? Where is the poet while this scene goes on? Who is the twenty-ninth bather? Just what is happening in this scene?

3. Just before the scene with the 28 young men, starting on p. 35, there is a scene about a runaway slave. What does this scene tell you about the poet? Why is the scene included in the poem? Is there a reason it comes just before the scene about the 28 young men? Look at the scene just before the runaway slave episode, also on p. 35, about the marriage of the trapper to an American Indian girl. Does this scene relate to the two that follow after it?

As you discuss these topics, move around in the poem to pick up related passages. Work to keep opening the poem up and discovering how tightly woven this web of words is, how one strand always connects to another, until you begin to feel you are seeing the overall pattern of thought and language. Look over the passages ahead of time and make notes and jot down questions--look up words, think through images. Be prepared to really talk these sections out with each other, to form a small community of interpretation that will allow all of you to know more about the poem when you leave class than when you came in.

For Wednesday, February 15: We will break into small groups this week to discuss parts of the first long poem ("Song of Myself") in the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. We will talk together today about "Song of Myself" and break into small groups toward the end of class if there is time; otherwise we will do this on Friday. Here are the discussion groups; the person randomly chosen as moderator will be responsible for guiding the discussion through the topics listed right after the groups:

Group One:
Denise Behrens
David Block, Moderator
John Bovard
Haleigh Brockman
Tasha Byrne
Joseph Cavaliere
Sandy Clasen

Group Three:
Sam Cochrane
Andrew Deloucas
Cody Gordon
Amanda Herrera
Alex Grapp
Kenneth Hoover
Katie Priske, Moderator

Group Two:
Jeremy Hahn
Megan Martens
Vincent Peiffer
Jessica Meyer
Amanda Rossmiller, Moderator
Alex Strong

Group Four:
Gwendolyn Stanley, Moderator
Dallas Thompson
Michael Toner
Cal Valenta
Elle Wignall
Emily Seiple


Topics for discussion (think about these ahead of time, make notes, be prepared to offer thoughts to your group):

1. On p. 31, a child asks the narrator "What is the grass?" The answer goes on for the rest of that page and most of the next page. Discuss the nature of the answer the poet gives the child. How does the poet go about answering the childish question? Why does the answer end in a discussion of death? What does the poet mean on p. 32 when he says that "to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier?"

2. On p. 36, there is a kind of narrative within the poem, about a twenty-eight-year-old woman watching 28 young men bathe naked. Discuss this scene. Why does Whitman include it in the poem? What is the point? Where is the poet while this scene goes on? Who is the twenty-ninth bather? Just what is happening in this scene?

3. Just before the scene with the 28 young men, starting on p. 35, there is a scene about a runaway slave. What does this scene tell you about the poet? Why is the scene included in the poem? Is there a reason it comes just before the scene about the 28 young men? Look at the scene just before the runaway slave episode, also on p. 35, about the marriage of the trapper to an American Indian girl. Does this scene relate to the two that follow after it?

As you discuss these topics, move around in the poem to pick up related passages. Work to keep opening the poem up and discovering how tightly woven this web of words is, how one strand always connects to another, until you begin to feel you are seeing the overall pattern of thought and language. Look over the passages ahead of time and make notes and jot down questions--look up words, think through images.

For Monday, February 13: This week we will be discussing Whitman's 1855 Leaves of Grass. Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose book with you to class; come prepared with questions about "Song of Myself" and especially about a particular passage that really puzzles you. Read in Reynolds's biography of Whitman chapters 7 ("Sex Is the Root of It All") and 8 ("Earth, Body, Soul: Science and Religion"). This week, too, read carefully the following Dickinson poems dealing with death:#216 (both versions), #241, #255, #258, #280, #281, #301,#389, #408, #411, #432, #465, #531, #724, #829, #822, #860, #970, #1046, #1445. Read all of these carefully, look up words, make notes; focus particularly on #216, #408, #465, which we'll discuss in class next week.

For Friday, February 10: We will watch the second half of the American Experience film biography of Whitman. Spend your reading time continuing to read, think about, and absorb "Song of Myself" (pp. 27-88 in Whitman's Poetry and Prose). Make notes on passages, images, and words that fascinate, confuse, and intrigue you. Next week we will devote to some intensive discussions of the 1855 Leaves of Grass.

For Wednesday, February 8: By today, you will have read through chapter 9 ("Death and Friendship") in Habegger's biography of Dickinson and through chapter 6 ("American Performances: Theater, Oratory, Music") in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. There will be a brief quiz on this week's biographical reading today. We will discuss together Dickinson's #565 ("I heard a Fly buzz"); please bring the handout of this poem that I gave you on Friday. We'll talk a little about the first half of the Whitman "American Experience" film you saw on Monday, and we will begin our discussion of "Song of Myself," the first long poem in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume (pp. 27-88). Read the opening ten pages carefully again, and mark passages that fascinate or puzzle you for whatever reason. Bring the Whitman Poetry and Prose to class with you.

For Monday, February 6: You are in the midst of a lot of reading--the entire first edition of Leaves of Grass (pp. 1-145 of the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume), the Habegger biography of Dickinson through chapter 9 (so you will be reading through to the end of the "Death and Friendship" chapter), and the Reynolds biography of Whitman through chapter 6 (so you'll be reading through to the end of the "American Performance" chapter). Be sure to get through this reading by this Wednesday, when there will be quiz over the biographical reading. Today, I want you to see the first half of a film on Whitman that I worked on as a consultant for several years. It was shown on PBS's "American Experience" series and was actually banned in two states, not shown because of concerns about certain aspects of Whitman's work that we'll discuss. The film will help us position our discussion of Whitman's work and will flesh out a lot of what you've been reading in Reynolds's biography. You do not need to bring any books to class, but do make notes on the film as you watch it. I will be interested in your reactions. My graduate assistant, Eric Conrad, will be in class today to show the film.

For Friday, February 3: Read again "This Compost" and Dickinson's #565 ("I heard a Fly buzz--when I died") and think of what (if any) connections there are between the two poems. We'll finish discussing "This Compost" and look together at Dickinson's poem, then begin talking about "Song of Myself" (that first long poem in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, pp. 27-88). Use the 1844 Webster's, the OED, and the Online Etymological Dictionary to discover what you can about key words in the poems you're reading. For the biographical reading, work on reading chapters 7 and 8 (pp. 123-166) in Habegger's biography of Dickinson. By next Wednesday, you should be through chapter 9 of Habegger and through chapter 6 of Reynolds. Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose to class.

For Wednesday, February 1: Read chapters 5 and 6 in Habegger's biography of Dickinson (pp. 73-120). There will be a brief quiz on the reading in Habegger (chapters 5 and 6) and Reynolds (chapters 4 and 5). Finish reading the first edition of Leaves of Grass in the Whitman Poetry and Prose book (pp. 1-145); again, just go with the flow and read the poems (reading them aloud really helps). Don't worry at this point about understanding every line. Today we will focus our discussion on "This Compost" (in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, pp. 495-497) Bring the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume to class: we will focus our discussion for the next several classes on the beginnings of the long poem that becomes "Song of Myself" (pp. 27-88). Also read carefully Dickinson's #465 ("I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--"), and think of it in relation to "This Compost." As you read through "Song of Myself" a couple of times, don't forget to look for a passage that you want to memorize. It's best to begin these memorizations now; read the passage you choose aloud each day (at least twenty lines, and be sure that whatever section you choose is a "complete" section--that is, don't stop on a line that ends with a comma or semicolon; take it at least to a period), and before you know it, you will have begun to memorize it.

For Monday, January 30: We'll try to decipher Dickinson's "gnomic" statement at the end of her "A Spider sewed at Night," and we'll compare this poem to her "A Word dropped careless on a Page" (#1261)--read those two poems carefully. And read again, carefully, Whitman's "This Compost" (in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, pp. 495-497). Read the poem through carefully several times and make notes on words that strike you as interesting, odd, bizarre, intriguing. Trace the way the repeated "I" diffuses into the repeated "the," "this," and "it," and think about how the "I" has been transformed when it returns at the end of the poem. Think about the word "leavings" at the very end of the poem: can you hear this word in more than one way? How do you think it might relate to the title Whitman chooses for his lifelong work, Leaves of Grass? What do you make of the line "What chemistry!"? What is chemistry doing in a poem? Read chapters 4 and 5 in Reynolds's biography of Whitman; this will take you up through the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Also read in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume the first long poem of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass (pp. 27-88). This is the poem that he would later entitle "Song of Myself," and it is one of the great literary texts ever written. Bring your Whitman Poetry and Prose volume to class. We'll start a discussion of Leaves of Grass. Remember that you should have also read by now Whitman's Preface to the 1855 edition (pp. 5-26).

For Friday, January 27: We'll finish talking about Whitman's "Noiseless Patient Spider" and talk together about Dickinson's complex little "A Spider sewed at Night." Think more about how Whitman's spider (and his representation of the spider) is different from Dickinson's representations. Look up key words in Whitman's and Dickinson's poems. Why does the spider disappear in the second stanza of Whitman's poem? Read chapters 3 and 4 in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and read chapters 2 and 3 in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. Another short quiz today. Read Emily Dickinson's first fifteen poems (#1 - #15) to get an idea of where her poetry begins. Do you see biographical associations in these poems? What do her main concerns seems to be at this point in her life (1850s)? In the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, read Whitman's Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass. Just go with it: it's Whitman's free-flowing description of what he believes the new American poet will have to do. For Monday, you will be beginning to read in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume the first long poem of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass (pp. 27-88). This is the poem that he would later entitle "Song of Myself," and it is one of the great literary texts ever written, influencing thousands of poets in the United States and around the world up to the present day.

For Wednesday, January 25: We'll continue to look at the spider poems, especially Dickinson's #1138 ("A Spider sewed at Night") and Whitman's "Noiseless Patient Spider": look up words in the 1844 Webster's and the OED and the Etymological Dictionary, and think through how each poet uses the spider to understand something about the self. Don't forget to write a paragraph or two (a page, double-spaced) about what the brain is like for each poet. Support your ideas with at least one key image or line from each poet, using Whitman's very early manuscript poem called "Pictures" (click here), where he takes you on a tour of the inside of the skull, and these Dickinson poems about the brain (numbers refer to the numbers of the poems, located above each poem where titles usually are): 280, 315, 410, 419, 556, 613, 632, 634, 670, 937, 945, 967, 1046, 1727. I'll collect these responses in class. Meanwhile, you should be reading chapters 3 and 4 in Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and chapters 2 and 3 in Reynolds's biography of Whitman. On Friday, there will be another short quiz over this reading. Also for Friday, read Emily Dickinson's first fifteen poems (#1-#15) to get an idea of where her poetry begins. Do you see biographical associations in these poems? What do her main concerns seems to be at this point in her life (1850s)? In the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, read Whitman's Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass (pp. 5-26). Just go with it: it's Whitman's free-flowing description of what he believes the new American poet will have to do.

For Monday, January 23: Read Chapters 1 and 2 of Habegger's biography of Dickinson, and read Chapter 1 of Reynolds's biography of Whitman. There will be a brief quiz over this reading today, Monday, January 23. IMPORTANT: If you do not have copies of the biographies yet and need PDFs of the chapters, email me at ed-folsom@uiowa.edu and let me know. I will then email you PDFs of the required reading.

Also read Whitman's poem "This Compost" (in the Whitman Poetry and Prose volume, p. 495-497). We will continue to talk about the spider poems, so review them and make more notes on them. Today, if we have time, we will talk about how Dickinson and Whitman imagine the brain, the inside of the skull. Both of them offer tours of the brain. Read Whitman's very early manuscript poem called "Pictures" (click here), where he takes you on a tour of the inside of the skull. Then read the following Dickinson poems about the brain: 280 ("I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"), 315 ("He fumbles at your Soul"), 410 ("The first Day's Night had come"), 419 ("We grow accustomed to the Dark"), 556 ("The Brain, within its Groove"), 613 ("They shut me up in Prose"), 632 ("The Brain is wider than the Sky"), 634 ("You'll know Her--by Her Foot"), 670 ("One need not be a Chamber"), 937 ("I felt a Cleaving in my Mind"), 945 ("There is a Blossom of the Brain"), 967 ("Pain--expands the Time"), 1046 ("I've dropped my Brain"), 1727 ("If ever the lid gets off my head"). Write a paragraph or two (one page, double-spaced) about what the brain is like for each poet. Support your ideas with at least one key image or line from each poet. I will collect these Wednesday, January 25, in class. If you don't yet have the poetry books, you can find these poems on the Web by Googling the poet's name along with the title (in Whitman's case) or the first line (in Dickinson's case).

We will be focusing on some key questions that each poet asks and that each answers in remarkably different ways:

·Who am I? What is "I"?

·What and who is the reader, and how is he/she a character in the poems?

·Who or what is "God" for Whitman and Dickinson, and is "God" at home anymore? How are their views of "God" different?

·What are "words" and how do they work differently for each poet?

·What is "death" for each poet? How do we die and what happens after death? How do we deal with death on a massive scale?

·Is science replacing religion for Whitman and/or Dickinson?

·How do Dickinson and Whitman think that children learn? What do children know?

We will be working to articulate what the poets' views are and how the two poets differ in their responses to the questions.

For Friday, January 20: Browse around in both the Whitman and Dickinson poetry books; read the editors' introductions, and get a good sense of how the poems are arranged. Check the indexes. Read the spider poems that I handed out in class--three by Dickinson, one by Whitman, and one by Robert Frost. ("A Noiseless Patient Spider" is on p. 564 of the Whitman Poetry and Prose book, and the Dickinson spider poems are poem #1138, poem #605, and poem #1275 in Dickinson's Complete Poems.) Look up words in the Webster's 1844 dictionary and the OED.

Make notes on these poems, and bring them to class with you so that we can discuss them together. Here are the poems, in case you don't have the handout with you:

#1138 (Emily Dickinson)

A Spider sewed at Night
Without a Light
Upon an Arc of White.

If Ruff it was of Dame
Or Shroud of Gnome
Himself himself inform.

Of Immortality
His Strategy
Was Physiognomy.

#605 (Emily Dickinson)

The Spider holds a Silver Ball
In unperceived Hands-
And dancing softly to Himself
His Yarn of Pearl-unwinds-

He plies from Nought to Nought-
In unsubstantial Trade-
Supplants our Tapestries with His-
In half the period-

An Hour to rear supreme
His Continents of Light-
Then dangle from the Housewife's Broom-
His Boundaries-forgot-

#1275 (Emily Dickinson)

The Spider as an Artist
Has never been employed-
Though his surpassing Merit
Is freely certified

By every Broom and Bridget
Throughout a Christian Land-
Neglected Son of Genius
I take thee by the Hand-

A Noiseless Patient Spider (Walt Whitman)

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

Design (Robert Frost)

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth --
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth --
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.

 

To Begin: Memorize these dates (really, memorize them!):

·Walt Whitman:1819-1892

·Emily Dickinson:1830-1886.