Your assignment for this long weekend is to engage with Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric," which is much shorter than "Song of Myself" but even more dense. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but you can skip section 2 if you want, and most people will lack the attention span for the huge catalog of body parts that is section 9, but at least read the last three lines which conclude the massive list like a P.S.
I'd like you to post a reaction to some aspect of the poem. Choose one: DICTION and CONNOTATION: what kind of words, and what kind of tone do they establish? IMAGERY: what are some of the most striking body-based images Whitman offers here? what's their impact? SOCIAL COMMENTARY: how does Whitman continue to fight the "Other-ing" of oppressed groups here? Here is the poem: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174740 If you're totally lost, it may help to read this brief commentary and then give the poem another shot: http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/whitman/section9.rhtml You can comment on classmates' posts for extra credit, but only if you add something substantive, helping them develop a point or pointing out a possible connection.
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AuthorMr. Justin Biggs Archives
August 2016
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