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     Literature is convoluted and ambiguous. Determining whether a piece of writing is literature is a journey of analyzing, questioning, and theorizing. “I Sing Body Electric” is one of many of Walt Whitman’s infamous poems that can be classified as literature. The organization and the themes provide a deep and thought-provoking meaning, making it literature.

      This poem is like a quaternion, but as opposed to four divided sections, there are nine (a nanonion?). Each section has its own central idea. The first section is about the narrator’s love and admiration for the human body, expressing how it should not be judged or harmed. However, in the second section, he begins listing random people and their routines or whereabouts. In the third section, he honed down on one specific individual: a farmer who fathers five sons and an unknown amount of daughters, who all love and adore him dearly. He finishes the section wishing how he could meet this man, how anyone would be enamoured by his presence. The fourth section continues this theme of joy and contentment when surrounded by people and their touch, expressing how that is all he truly wants. The fifth section is about the narrator’s very graphic adoration of the female body, whereas the sixth section discusses his respect for male-kind. Both the seventh and eight section where about a slave-auction he attended, despite his hatred for this repulsive and dehumanizing market. He speaks about how all people are people, and should be treated with love and respect. The ninth section holds the conclusion of his panegyrics of human soul and body love. The division of these nine sections are very intentional and well-thought through. The narrator begins by stating what can be interpreted as the topic of the poem: human soul and body should be loved and strike people with awe. He continues by giving examples of the lives of others, and then “zooms in” to one particular common farmer. The joy and love in his family touches his heart, furthering his love for mankind. He specifies the qualities he loved about women and men, which then led to the conversation of the enslaved men and women at the auction. All sections when read at face value seem unrelated to each other, but with thorough analysis, it can be seen that Whitman’s purpose of this poem is to show how humans are all related to each other, and should all be respected.

 

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The brain- is wider than the sky- by Emily Dickinson shows me what literature is because of the way it makes me think and makes me think about how one line could mean two different meanings, and how she words certain lines to make them stand out to the reader. An example of it is when she states. “the brain is just the weight of god” here the reader has to think about what she means, from what I read I believe what she is stating is that the brain can absorb and take in as much information as needed, basically saying that the mind/brain is just like the sea or sky. which is why I consider it a piece of literature because it is comparing two items that are not normally compared and making the reader think. the author could have just easily related the brain to a computer and could have stated many aspects that were similar when it came to both of them yet she chose these specific words and tied them back to the brain forcing the reader to think about her statements. This is what I believe to be literature when an author has to make the reader think about the words they put in their piece of writing, which is exactly what Dickinson showed us here in this piece of poetry

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In the poem “I sing the body electric” by Walt Whitman , the writer talks about the human body and questions if whether or not the body is connected to the soul and if not, then what is the soul? Not only that but he also describes the human body, female and male as a beautiful thing that makes life, life. The tone that the writer uses to explain the human body and soul is very passionate and powerful, which conveys the idea of this poem being a piece of literature. In the writing “What is literature” by Jonathan Culler, it is stated “some texts are taken to be richer, more powerful, more exemplary, more contestatory, more central, for one reason or another. But both literary and non-literary works can be studied together and in similar ways.” This quote from the writing shows how some pieces of literature are being described as admirable, debatable and strong, Which is how I would describe the poem made by writer Whitman, “Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves? And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead? And if the body does not do fully as much as the soul? And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?” This is the second stanza of the poem which justifies my opinion on this poem being powerful. Not only that stanza but the whole poem includes aspects of literature that Culler describes in his writing when analyzing the question “what is literature?”. I also see literature as something one can’t give a solid definition of, you can describe it but there will never be an exact signification, which is something I will also use to describe this poem, it makes you think deeper than what you already know, you can describe it but there is no solid meaning to it. 

 

Blog post #1 “The Brain – is wider than the sky- ” by Emily Dickinson

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Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Brain – is wider than the sky- ” focuses on the power of the brain and how the human mind is capable of conceptualizing almost anything. The speaker of the poem says the brain itself is larger and broader than the sky itself metaphorically to imply that our brain can do anything it sets its mind to. In my opinion, what makes this piece of writing “literature” is Dickinson’s use of the literal device. In the poem, she uses metaphor, simile, and parallelism making her poem stand out more to the reader. For example, In the poem, Dickinson uses metaphor to make a comparison between the sky and the brain. In the second stanza, Dickinson compares the brain to a sponge ‘As sponges, – buckets – do’ which indicates the use of simile. And these are some of the features of the poem that jump out at me as being important to the question of ‘” what is literature,” asked by Jonathan Culler. According to Culler, literature is more than just the written word, and the quality and unique structure of literature make it recognizable. And in my view, the poem ” The Brain – is wider than the sky- ” by Emily Dickinson has great quality, and the poem itself is very clear. Yes, there are aspects of literature that Culler describes that I see in the poem I’ve chosen. The poem rhymes, and followed a rhythmic pattern of repetition and a series of stressed and unstressed syllables or meter which makes it literature. For example,

‘The Brain—is wider than the Sky—
For—put them side by side—.’

Therefore, I would say this poem is a great example of literature.

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Without literature there is no self-expression and creativity. We would not be able to appreciate the power of words and make deep connections within them. The poem “The Brain—is wider than the Sky—,” written by Emily Dickinson is a form of literature that compares the brain to earth surfaces and God. She uses one giant metaphor to state how powerful the brain is and the infinite capability of the human mind. When she compares the brain being wider than the sky she is expressing how the mind is a boundless place for imaginations and ideas vaster than the sky. She also compares how the mind has the ability to grasp never-ending amounts of information just like a sponge has the capacity to absorb a whole bucket of water. Lastly, the brain is compared to the weight of God, referring that the brain almost has the same importance and power as God. It compares the human brain to syllables and God’s energy and power to sound. The poet uses figurative language to make comparisons on how the brain is limitless unlike the sky, sea and the weight of God. This poem very-well expresses how the mind is powerful and capable of creating and perceiving things. Every mind is intellectually unique in its own way, but not everyone is aware of  how much power they can consume; it is built throughout time. The mind is filled with an infinite amount of intelligence and imaginations “wider than a sky.” Without literature, the poet would not be able to make expressive connections like these. Literature allows the writer to paint a work of art while the audience (reader) can create different kinds of visions and perspectives just from their imagination. Literature is powerful and interesting. Without literature the mind would just become boring.

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Blog Post #1: “The Brain – is wider than the sky-” by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson”s poetry titled ” The Brain – is wider than the sky-“. In the first stanza it compares the human brain with the sky. Which suggests that the brain is wider than the sky. This portrays that the mind has the power to think and imagine beyond anything. Also I think that the meaning of the first stanza of this poetry is that the brain has no limit . This is why the speaker compares the brain with the sky because even though the sky is high and very wide, the brain is wider because it has the power to do almost anything with you on the side. On the second and third stanza of this poetry it talks about the brain being deeper than the sea and the brain just being the weight of god. In these last two stanza I think the significance is the brain can absorb anything . For example, the brain can absorb any kind of information , images that the eyes sees and the brain captures or any sounds that you hear the brain will absorb just like a sponge or a bucket does. The brain being just the weight of god means that the brain in all can be very powerful and great as god is but not infinite. Overall, what makes this piece of writing literature is that it describes the brain and compares with things of nature like the sky, the sea and god . Is like the writer of this poetry is trying to express that the brain is a very beautiful thing like the sea and was made to perceive the great things created while you on the side. The way the writer expresses herself about the brain is in a very artistic way and so this is why i think this piece of writing is literature.

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The reading I did by Walt Whitman, I Sing the Body Electric, is a rather long poem describing the human anatomy from different perspectives, all being generally positive as well as empowering to ones self. A good example of this can be found all though out the poem, however one stood out to me was toward the center/ end parts when Whitman begins a story about a slave auction taking place and how the slaves, who at this point were obviously treated as objects rather than people, have their own souls, wills, dreams and ambitions besides being sold off into whatever hell they are to be subjected to (My words). This really opened up a different path for the poem as a whole for me as it came to light that it was not just a poem about self empowerment and divine enjoyment, it was telling a deeper story, no matter who you are, what you hail from, or what gender you were given by the grace of god, you are a living breathing, thinking person and that should never be given up, even in times of desperation. In regards to how this can correlate with Cullers question What is Literature, Culler almost directly talks about literature as the inclusion of different writing techniques to convey or project emotion from the reader, which can be seen in multiple stages of the piece by Whitman, from how he describes a normal every day person as something divine and even when trying to pull apart the comparison between slaves and objects by stating that slaves have their own free will, even if under law that is not the case. Even when describing the men who are auctioning and being auctioned, he never lets the tone of “creator”, so to speak, dissipate, meaning that he has a sort of tone that makes him see the beauty in even the most fragile and damaged.

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In the poem ” The Brain is wider than the sky” by Emily Dickinson
The poet compares our minds to the sky, the sea, and the weight of God. All of them are vast in their respective fields, while also being something that has not fully been understood. The poet states how the mind can be abstract and hold a spectrum of meanings, relating to how she compares the mind to the sky, the sea, and the weight of god in different aspects of their relation to our minds. They all have their blind areas, a portion that is untouched and yet to be understood, just like the nature of mind. Some features that jump to me as being important to the question “what is Literature” is one example of how the sentence “The Brain is wider than the sky” can be literal and non-literal at the same time, it compares two things and the relation between the two, but the relations are not realistic and accurate. Culler also states how both literal and non-literal works can be studied together and in similar ways, much like our poet’s comparison of the mind with a different perception and the correlation between the two entities. The poem constantly refers to the use of metaphors and how the poet chooses to express the central message of the poem to the readers, this shows us some aspects of Culler’s “what is Literature” such as metaphors and hyperboles.

Blog Post #1 Emily Dickinson

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In the poem written by Emily Dickinson “The brain- is wider than the sky-” Emily writes about the importance of the brain and what it is capable of. In the first line of the poem Emily states that the brain is wider than the sky. At first glance, you could catch a small glimpse of what Emily is trying to say about the brain. As you continue to read the rest of the poem, you could understand almost all of the poem and what Emily is trying to say about the capabilities of the brain. This sentence implies that the subconscious person has the ability to think, perceive, and create, implying that the mind can accomplish everything it sets its mind to. In other terms, the brain’s imagination is boundless. The sentence ‘The Brain—is wider than the Sky—’ offers a crucial significance, indicating that the brain when it comes to thought and imagination is wider than the open space in the air. This jumps out to me as being important to the question of “what is literature” because it contains the rhetorical device metaphor and this piece of work written by Emily is a form of art, poetry, and can be instantly recognizable through the use of literature. The poem continues on to metaphorically talk about the brain capabilities as she states that the “brain is deeper than the sea.” Again, Emily writes this line as a way to show how the brain is deep in the sense of gaining knowledge. Dickinson’s symbolic analogy of the brain to the sea suggests that humans are capable of profound insights. The speaker of the poem goes on to explain that the mind is capable of observing, absorbing, and processing a large amount of information by comparing the brain to a sponge that soaks up a bucket of water. The use of language that is written in this line makes it easier to grasp and understand and has us the reader distinguish characteristics of the poem which leads to the importance of the question “what is literature?”

Blog Post #1 “I Sing the Body Electric” by Walt Whitman

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In this poem, Whitman explores the physicality of the human body and how it does just as much as the soul. He talks about how his version of a well-made man does not only express himself through facial expression but in the way he carries himself in whole. The way he walks, the flex of his waist and knees and the way he may talk.  Whitman talks about how his clothes can’t hide him and he can still see who is through the clothing. Whitman then describes women- their shapes, styles, the contour of their shapes and other people and what those people do and how they do it-the narrator is explaining in detail the beauty of the body. The narrator talks about a farmer he knew, he describes what he looked like and how tall he was and he talks about the farmers sons and daughters and how they loved him with personal love he talked about how his grandsons loved him and that if you knew him you’d love him to and would wish to sit by him. Whitman was expressing the thoughts of being surrounded by beautiful bodies and how he takes in the details of men, women, babies. The narrator discusses how the female body is a gate for the soul touching on the topic of reproduction and the female form,  Whitman talks about the beauty in the male form and how he takes his part in “power and action”  saying that both female and male bodies are holy.  Whitman talks about the a man being sold at a slave auction and a auctioneer who doesn’t know what he is doing and the people at the auction who can’t afford the males body because its worth more than money, Whitman describes how this man has dreams and aspirations, how he has senses, arms and legs, and that he has the same blood as everyone else and that he’s not just one man. He talks about a woman being sold in auction and how she’s not just one woman and how she is a mother and she will have daughters who will be mothers. Whitman talks about how the human bodies are all connected in one way or another using a christian belief.

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Pick one of the poems you read this week, and think about what makes this piece of writing “literature.” Write about the features of the poem that jump out at you as being important to the question of ‘”what is literature,” asked by Jonathan Culler. Are there aspects of literature that Culler describes that you see in the poem you’ve chosen? 

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