I Hear America Singing
Lexus Freeman
Ms. Griffin
English 11
05 November 2013
I Hear America Singing
In what way does Walt Whitman portray tone in “I Hear America Singing”? Walt Whitman establishes a cheerful tone in his poem “I Hear America Singing” by his word choice and his way of creating imagery. Focusing on these elements will help a reader understand what the tone of the poem is. After the reader reads the poem and digests the phrases and creativity, they will be able to restate the tone to a person with no doubt.
Whitman uses a variety of words and phrases to express the tone. One example would be when he says “Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs” (Whitman 513). Melodious means sweet sounding or musical; by using the word melodious, it suggests that the line has a positive connotation. The poet is saying that people were proudly singing happy songs. The poet also uses words such as blithe, and friendly. Blithe is a synonym for happy and cheerful. Using positive words in the poem proves that the poet intended to create a cheerful tone.
Walt Whitman also uses imagery to establish tone. An example of imagery would be when he states “The delicious singing of the mother or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing” (Whitman 513). It is easy to visualize this quote. A person could interpret this quote as people happily doing their chores or jobs while singing delightful tunes. Another example of imagery would be when Whitman says “The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work” (Whitman 513). The reader could easily imagine someone walking into or leaving work singing because they are happy or they are in a joyful mood.
It is quite easy to determine the tone of “I hear America Singing”. Walt Whitman used imagery and word choice to establish the tone. It was a great choice to use imagery and words/phrases because it makes the poem more interesting. Creating imagery caused the reader to actually imagine the scene in the
Ms. Griffin
English 11
05 November 2013
I Hear America Singing
In what way does Walt Whitman portray tone in “I Hear America Singing”? Walt Whitman establishes a cheerful tone in his poem “I Hear America Singing” by his word choice and his way of creating imagery. Focusing on these elements will help a reader understand what the tone of the poem is. After the reader reads the poem and digests the phrases and creativity, they will be able to restate the tone to a person with no doubt.
Whitman uses a variety of words and phrases to express the tone. One example would be when he says “Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs” (Whitman 513). Melodious means sweet sounding or musical; by using the word melodious, it suggests that the line has a positive connotation. The poet is saying that people were proudly singing happy songs. The poet also uses words such as blithe, and friendly. Blithe is a synonym for happy and cheerful. Using positive words in the poem proves that the poet intended to create a cheerful tone.
Walt Whitman also uses imagery to establish tone. An example of imagery would be when he states “The delicious singing of the mother or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing” (Whitman 513). It is easy to visualize this quote. A person could interpret this quote as people happily doing their chores or jobs while singing delightful tunes. Another example of imagery would be when Whitman says “The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work” (Whitman 513). The reader could easily imagine someone walking into or leaving work singing because they are happy or they are in a joyful mood.
It is quite easy to determine the tone of “I hear America Singing”. Walt Whitman used imagery and word choice to establish the tone. It was a great choice to use imagery and words/phrases because it makes the poem more interesting. Creating imagery caused the reader to actually imagine the scene in the