Mannahatta by Walt Whitman

Mannahatta
by Walt Whitman
I was asking for something specific and perfect for my city, Whereupon lo! upsprang the aboriginal name. Now I see what there is in a name, a word, liquid, sane, unruly, musical, self-sufficient, I see that the word of my city is that word from of old, Because I see that word nested in nests of water-bays, superb, Rich, hemm'd thick all around with sailships and steamships, an island sixteen miles long, solid-founded, Numberless crowded streets, high growths of iron, slender, strong, light, splendidly uprising toward clear skies, Tides swift and ample, well-loved by me, toward sundown, The flowing sea-currents, the little islands, larger adjoining islands, the heights, the villas, The countless masts, the white shore-steamers, the lighters, the ferry-boats, the black sea-steamers well-model'd, The down-town streets, the jobbers' houses of business, the houses of business of the ship-merchants and money- brokers, the river-streets, Immigrants arriving, fifteen or twenty thousand in a week, The carts hauling goods, the manly race of drivers of horses, the brown-faced sailors, The summer air, the bright sun shining, and the sailing clouds aloft, The winter snows, the sleigh-bells, the broken ice in the river, passing along up or down with the flood-tide or ebb-tide, The mechanics of the city, the masters, well-form'd, beautiful-faced, looking you straight in the eyes, Trottoirs throng'd, vehicles, Broadway, the women, the shops and shows, A million people--manners free and superb--open voices-- hospitality--the most courageous and friendly young men, City of hurried and sparkling waters! city of spires and masts! City nested in bays! my city! Reaction- My first reaction to the poem was that it's obviously about Manhattan. The poem caught my eye and I really enjoyed it. It may not give the most accurate description of New York City today, but it sets a tone of what it was like back during when Whitman lived. Today there is still Broadway, tall buildings, ferries, lots of vehicles, etc. But, in modern day we don't see as many sailors, horse drawn carriages, and ship-merchants. The poem today can show the differences and similarities of the famous New York City. It also highlights all the images of the city and the great things it contains. Meaning- I believe the meaning of the poem is simple, he is describing how great Manhattan is. Whitman also refers to Manhattan as his city, which I interpret as that he really loves being in the city and is proud to be telling others about it. He tells of all the sights and visuals you see when you visit, and all the variety that New York City contains. He clearly is proud of Manhattan and loves it very much, for he pays careful detail to the visuals and loved the city enough to write a poem about it. In Whitman's opinion, I think he's saying that he is proud of the city, and others should be too. There is so much variety and things to do and see there that everyone should have the experience of seeing "his city." Technique- Whitman uses techniques such as punctuation, lines, and most importantly he uses imagery. The visual imagery really makes and sets the scene for the poem. Without it, it would lack the picture you are supposed to paint in your head while reading the poem. Biography Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 and lived in Brooklyn and Long Island in the 1820's and 1830's. He first fell in love with writing at age 12, and read things such as Shakespeare and The Bible. He worked as a printer in New York City until a fire destroyed the industry. At age 17 he began his career as a teacher in a one-room school in Long Island. Whitman taught there until 1841, when he made journalism his full time career. He founded the Long-Islander, a weekly newspaper, and then later on edited many Brooklyn and New York papers. In 1848, he became editor of New Orlean's The Crescent. Returning back to Brooklyn the same year, he continued to develop unique poetry. In 1855, he published Leaves of Grass, containing 12 poems. A year later he released a second edition that included 33 poems. Ralph Waldo Emerson praised his work. Whitman struggled for much of his life, having lived the time period of the Civil War. During the early 1870's he moved to Camden, New Jersey to be with his sick brother, where he himself suffered a stroke. Whitman spent his last years adding things and revising his final volume of poems, Good-Bye, My Fancy (1891). Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892 and was buried in Harleigh Cemetery, in a tomb he built and designed.

Did I Miss Anything?

Tom Wayman

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

     Everything. I gave an exam worth
     40 percent of the grade for this term
     and assigned some reading due today
     on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
     worth 50 percent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

     Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
     a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
     or other heavenly being appeared
     and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
     to attain divine wisdom in this life and
     the hereafter
     This is the last time the class will meet
     before we disperse to bring the good news to all people
          on earth.

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

     Everything. Contained in this classroom
     is a microcosm of human experience
     assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
     This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
          gathered

     but it was one place

     And you weren’t here

Reaction- My first reaction to the poem was that it was really funny. When students miss a day of school they always ask their teacher what they missed. Usually, the teacher will provide the student with the work that he or she missed, but sometimes the teacher will make a witty remark. This poem reminds me of the teachers who like to be witty and not give their students a definite answer of what they missed.

Meaning- I believe the poem means that things always occur in class whether a student is absent or not. In the first, third, and fifth stanzas, the poet talks about how the class just sat there and folded their hands when they realized that certain student wasn't there. Sometimes it seems that students think the whole class stops their work because they aren't present during the class period. In the even number stanzas, the poet says how the student missed everything and the class took an important exam and did many activities. I think the reasoning behind this poem is that "Did I Miss Anything?" is a rhetorical question, because 99% of the time a student always misses something when they're absent.

Technique- This poem is written in the form of four stanzas. The author of the poem also uses run on sentences and little punctuation. Every other stanza is also indented.