Intro to Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass + "Song of Myself"--Professor Bernstein
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Valuable introductory background information on Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and "Song of Myself." I also quote from David S. Reynolds' Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography.
www.getyourself...
I actuaaly read most of the poems this weekend before the video. The video gives me a deeper significance of the poems, the people descibed, their jobs, the sounds and nature. Although I must say, he seems to have an abundance of self esteem. I look forward to re-evluating some passages that I thought were interesting and and making another connection based off the video.
I like the fact that Whitman intergrates not only fragments, but also perpetual change into a unified whole. The different und changing editions of "Leaves of Grass" are, in the end, one work of art. Also, the poems, stanzas, and lines in this book are often variations of a theme to which a new thought is added.
I really think the background information you give helps me to better understand the characters behind the writings. To envision a book of poetry as a living, breathing, changeable thing is entirely new to me; what a novel concept! To know that we are reading the final version of a poem that had been revised over the years and different publications due to changes in the writer and the times makes this feel all the more alive to me. I like how you tell us to lean and loafe and invite our souls!
my question is how do I make my parents love me
Really helpful! Thanks so much. As a literature student in London, it's sometimes hard to understand Whitman's poetry and its relation to the American psyche, and you've really helped with that. Much appreciated! :)
Great! I'm glad you found the video helpful.
The way this poem has been described and the fact that we're being told to ENJOY it, makes me excited to read it. And like the others I think it'll be interesting to see how Whitman tries to unify different groups.
Hey, I got this book for Christmas and I love it. Thanks to the movie "Dead Poet's Society" I fell in love with Poetry and Literature. I'd recommend everyone who'd like "Leaves of Grass" to read some poems by Robert Frost or to watch that movie above. I wish you all a wonderful day and happy New Year :)
Great intro! I shared this today with some HS juniors after reading the opening poem to Leaves of Grass.
+Steve Lively Thanks for letting me know! :-)))
The introductory video on Walt Whitman was very interesting. I had never thought of Whitman as a unifying force during the period leading up to the Civil War. Quite the contrary, I had considered Whitman a poet who idolized Lincoln and was sympathetic to the northern cause. I will read “Song of Myself” with very great interest.
Walt Whitman seems like a very interesting author. I think it is particularly interesting how you referred to Whitman's view of Leaves of Grass as a "living" work, in that he was constantly revising it. Another interesting/respectable aspect of Whitman was how he had different sizes of the text as well as different priced texts, really showing that he wanted everyone who desired to read his work, had the opportunity. Im also looking forward to seeing how Whitman uses his poetry to unite.
he is dead
great ! Thanks from France
:-)
je suis une Zed j'mapelle biblioteque un pason de formage
The poem was very long and I found it hard to stay on track with the main idea of it. This video though did help me concentrate on what to look for. Hence, how does Whitman hold the nation together with his poetry. Also it helps to know he wrote his poems in order to bring people together and reflect hope.
i love the way professor bernstein makes whitman's work easy to get into. plus, she's hot, which doesn't hurt...
Professor Bernstein, I was wondering: I have heard that Whitman's free verse was a new innovation, but I was looking at Blake's Prophetic works, and they use long lines as well. Is Blake's verse free verse as well or does he follow a strict metric?
Thank you for your insights! I haven't read Leaves of Grass yet because I've thought of it as being a little intimidating. Thanks for making it more accessible for me!
Reza--I'm glad you found the insights helpful! I always try to provide enough info to empower readers to read literary texts on their own (instead of relying on other people to do the work for them). Enjoy!
Is there a complete read of "Song of Myself" on UA-cam? All I can find is incomplete sets of readings separated into various parts.
thank you
I just think it amazing that Whitman is so pushed upon us as some kind of Seer ?
Lol, DH Lawrence's essay on him really strikes to the core of this farce.
I mean Whitman basically did invent modernist poetry and English free-verse sixty years before T.S. Eliot published the Wasteland. But I get how people don't like his poems and think they're like "catalogues" (that was Emerson's word). Even Whitman fans will admit that 90% of the deathbed addition is mediocre and he only has five or six good poems.
@@JB-kn2zh Whitman doesn't do it for me. Maybe back in the day I would feel differently.
Thumbs down 👇 sorry.
Very Helpful !
This is a very good video and I have really enjoyed these videos. They give me a new perspective for when I start reading the stories. It helps me understand the stories much better because I know about the background.
I always enjoy your videos.They seem to help me get ready to read the assignment. I like the fact that you help with giving us things to think about when reading. In a class room I would not be able to rewind you if I missed something.
I thought that it was interesting to know how he used his poetry. To just see that poetry had the ability to promote unity and help heal people. This video help gives me a little background to how he went about things.