Whitman, a Transcendentalist

Christy LoyPrairie Central High School

Summer 2006

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

Walt Whitman was the father of modern poetry in that he wrote poetry about the common man and used free verse. He was also a devotee of the Transcendental movement brought to America by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This lesson will help students understand the poetry of Whitman and the poet’s convictions as they relate to Transcendentalism. (Note: This lesson assumes that students have already studied transcendentalism and some works of Ralph Waldo Emerson.)

Overview/ Materials/LOC Resources/Standards/ Procedures/Evaluation/Rubric/Handouts/Extension

Overview Back to Navigation BarObjectives Students will:

understand and apply literary terms (free verse, alliteration, repetition) to Walt Whitman’s poems “I Hear America Singing” and “What is the Grass”

analyze and interpret the poems of Whitman to find the themes

identify characteristics of transcendentalism in Whitman’s poems

compose a poem using literary devices and transcendental characteristics

Recommended time frame 2 (90-minute) blocksGrade level 11th Curriculum fit Language ArtsMaterials Copies of the poems “I Hear America Singing” and

“What is the Grass” by Walt Whitman (Note: By clicking on the “I Hear America Singing” link, you will be able to not only see but hear the poem being read as well as find other links to Whitman materials at the Library of Congress.)

Study guide over Whitman and “I Hear America Singing”

Photocopied page of Transcendental characteristics (see handouts below)

Photocopied packets (one per team) of all primary

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resources (see resource map below) Photocopied “Clue Diagram” titled “Walt Whitman

Writings and His Butterfly” (see handouts) Rubric for student-created poetry (see handouts) Teacher-created exemplar of poem (See handouts) PowerPoint on Transcendentalism

Illinois State Learning Standards Back to Navigation BarLanguage Arts: GOAL 2: Read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras and ideas. 2.A.4a Analyze and evaluate the effective use of

literary techniques (e.g., figurative language, allusion, dialogue, description, symbolism, word choice, dialect) in classic and contemporary literature representing a variety of forms and media.

2.A.5d Evaluate the influence of historical context on form, style and point of view for a variety of literary works.

2.B.5a Analyze and express an interpretation of a literary work.

2.B.5b Apply knowledge gained from literature as a means of understanding contemporary and historical economic, social and political issues and perspectives.

GOAL 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes. 3.A.5 Produce grammatically correct documents

using standard manuscript specifications for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Procedures Back to Navigation BarDay One: Introduce the life of Walt Whitman with a brief

lecture or have a student who has researched this author present his or her biography.

Read or play an audiotape of “What is the Grass,” a poem by Walt Whitman, and model how to analyze a poem. Students should have a copy of this poem to view as well.

Hand out the study guide for “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman and have students in teams work together to answer the questions.

When teams are finished, ask each team to share a

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few answers so that all students have the correct answers.

At the end of the discussion, lead students through a series of oral questions to discover that Whitman was a transcendentalist like Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom they have already studied. (Suggested questions: Are all the workers happy? Are workers doing their “own thing”? Are they all connected as they sing “carols”? What philosophy does this remind you of that you have already studied?)

Review the characteristics of transcendentalism that students have studied by showing the PowerPoint on Transcendentalism.

Hand out a graphic organizer of the characteristics of transcendentalism, one packet of photocopied and enlarged primary resources (copy, enlarge, and paste items from the resource map below) to each team, and a “Clue Diagram” titled “Walt Whitman Writings and His Butterfly.”

Teams will work together to the end of the period analyzing the primary resources, filling in the clue diagram, and completing a paragraph summarizing the findings.

Day Two: Students will rejoin their teams and continue to

analyze the primary resources and complete the analysis worksheets.

Students will read their paragraphs they composed at the bottom of the clue diagram to the class as a review and as a lead in to the culminating exercise.

Announce that students will now create a poem that reveals at least one characteristic of transcendentalism, includes the literary devices of alliteration and repetition, and is an example of free verse in the Whitman style.

Hand out and discuss the rubric so that students will see how they will be scored. (See rubric below)

Read a teacher-created exemplar. Write one yourself or feel free to use the poem in the handout section titled “A Mother’s Song.”

Students will present their poems to the class and turn in to the teacher for grading.

Evaluation Back to Navigation Bar

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The teacher will informally evaluate student understanding of the poetry analysis process during a class discussion of the poem “What is the Grass” by Whitman.

Students will informally evaluate their answers to a study guide over Whitman and the poem “I Hear America Singing” in a collaborative effort among team members and then as a class.

Using a rubric, the teacher will formally evaluate the poem students composed in their teams.

Extension Back to Navigation Bar Students may draw a picture or find clipart to

accompany their poems. Students may write an individual poem that reflects

their personal philosophy as opposed to transcendentalism but retains the style and literary device requirements. The original rubric found below may be used by removing the requirement for transcendental characteristics.

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Primary Resources from the Library of CongressBack to Navigation Bar

Image/Resource Description Citation URLLC #220 Whitman's Cardboard Butterfly

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/whitman/butterfly.html

Poet at Work: Walt Whitman. ca. 1877-1883.

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/whitman/index.html

EMBED Word.Picture.8

Notebook LC #80 "Earliest" Notebook (Holloway No.1), 1847, page 25. Walt Whitman Notebooks, 1847-1860s

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/ww/thinking.html

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) to Walt Whitman (1819-1892) Transcription

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) to Walt Whitman (1819-1892),July 21,1855Page 2 Holograph letterManuscript Division (17), Library of Congress.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/whitman-leavesofgrass.html#ww0017

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Poet at Work: Walt Whitman Notebooks 1850s-1860s Home Page Notebook LC #80

Front Cover, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=whitman&fileName=wwhit080.data&recNum=0

Poet at Work: Walt Whitman Notebooks 1850s-1860s, Notebook LC #9P 75

Image 75,Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=whitman&fileName=wwhit094.data&recNum=96

Poet at Work: Walt Whitman Notebooks 1850s-1860sNotebook LC #94 P 200

Image 200, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Thomas Biggs Harned Walt Whitman Collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=whitman&fileName=wwhit094.data&recNum=223

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RubricBack to Navigation Bar

Name________________________ Block______

Poetry Rubric for student-written “Whitmanesque” poem

Poetry Novice Apprentice Veteran Master Score

Ability to captivate the

reader

Unfocused; author seems

unsure of direction(1-2 pts.)

Some focus, but lacks continuity(3-4 pts.)

Well focused and interests reader throughout.(5-6 pts)

Captivates and involves reader

deeply. (7-8 pts)

Uses literary devices

(must include alliteration, repetition)

Difficult to find use of any

devices (1-3 pts)

Some use of literary devices(4-6 pts)

Clear use of some literary

devices(7-9 pts)

Vivid, strong use of several

literary devices 10-12 pts)

Use of transcendental characteristics

Does notincorporate

characteristics

(1-2 pts)

Incorporates 1characteristic

(3-4 pts)

Incorporates 2 characteristics

(5-6 pts)

Incorporates 3

characteristics (7-8 pts)

PunctuationArbitrary

punctuation(1-2 pts)

Some meaningful punctuation

(3-4 pts)

Punctuation meaningful throughout

(4-5 pts)

Punctuation enhances

conveyance of thoughts and

images(5-6 pts)

Form(free verse) Lines rhyme Some Rhyme

Only one accidental

rhyme

No rhyming lines

Poetry rubric adapted from: http://www.eop.mu.edu/greg/Sample_Poetry_Rubric.html

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HandoutsBack to Navigation Bar

NAME____________________________ BLOCK____

WALT WHITMAN “I HEAR AMERICA SINGING” STUDY GUIDE

Define the following literary terms:

1. Define free verse

2. Define alliteration

3. Give an example of alliteration from the poem:

4. Define repetition

5. Give an example of repetition from the poem:

“I HEAR AMERICA SINGING”

6. In general, most poetry written prior to Whitman’s day dealt with idealized characters or extraordinary heroes. What kinds of people did Whitman choose to portray?

7. - 10. List four workers and what they are doing as they sing.

a.

b.

c.

d.

11. What phrase does Whitman use to indicate these separate individuals are part of a united group? (think in terms of a musical group)

12. Define blithe

13. Define robust

14. What is the mood of this poem?

15. How is Whitman’s poetry different from traditional poetry?

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Clue Diagram

N A M E (S )_ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ B L O C K _ __ __ __ __

W A L T W H I T M A N W R IT IN G S A N D H IS B U T T E R F L Y (Th ese o rig in a l d o cu m en ts res id e in th e L ib rary o f C o n gress in W ash in gto n , D .C .) Th e fo llo w in g ex cerp ts fro m W h itm an’s no t ebo o ks p lu s h is b u tterfly sh ou ld g ive y o u clu es th at h e w a s a fo llo w er o f E m erso n and th e ph ilo so p hy o f tran scen d en ta lism . A ft e r v iew in g y o u r p acke t o f p rim ary reso u rces fro m th e L ib rary o f C o n gress , ex p la in h o w each p iece p ro v id es a c lu e an d en te r y o u r f in d in gs in th e ap p ro p ria te b o x b elo w . Th en w rite a p aragrap h su m m ariz in g y o u r f in d in g in th e b o x at th e bo ttom o f th e p age.

W hitm a n’s N o tebo o k # 80 , p. 2 5

W hitm a n’s C ard bo ard B u tterfly

E m e rso n’s le tte r to W h itm a n W hitm a n’s N o tebo o k # 9 , p. 7 5

W hitm a n’s N o tebo o k # 94 , p.2 0 0

W rite a paragr aph su m m arizing yo u r findings here:

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSCENDENTALISM

INDIVIDUALISM:

Do what is right for you. Don’t follow the crowd.

BELIEF IN YOURSELF:Be true to one’s own inner perception or intuition; hold on to your beliefs because they are right for you even if others disagree.

MAN, UNIVERSE AND NATURE ARE ONE:Emerson called it the Oversoul. It can be a guide to higher understanding; nature is truth and symbolizes God or the inner life of human beings.

OPTIMISM:

All is good; evil is an illusion.

UNLIMITED POTENTIAL:

Each individual should set high goals to improve.

TEACHER-CREATED EXEMPLAR

The Mother’s Song

Everyone knows that my life’s joysAre wrapped up in my good girl and shining son

Little Angie and little StevenFulfill my world’s whimsy and want

I toil for long so that they can playI carry burdens so they may remain

Children for a very long whileKnowing little but the sun and their shine

I want them to learn and discoverBut don’t want pain to surrender

To these children, my dearsOh, how I want to hold them close always

Thus, when my Angie does cryOr when my Steven does frown

I am cut quickly to my soulSad that they are learning the world

While I want my children to laughI hope they will soon begin

To see that I sing my life only for themFor my good girl and my shining son.