“The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839)

Analysis

“The Fall of the House of Usher” possesses the quintessential -features of the Gothic tale: a haunted house, dreary landscape, mysterious sickness, and doubled personality. For all its easily identifiable Gothic elements, however, part of the terror of this story is its vagueness. We cannot say for sure where in the world or exactly when the story takes place. Instead of standard narrative markers of place and time, Poe uses traditional Gothic elements such as inclement weather and a barren landscape. We are alone with the narrator in this haunted space, and neither we nor the -narrator know why. Although he is Roderick’s most intimate boyhood friend, the narrator apparently does not know much about him—like the basic fact that Roderick has a twin sister. Poe asks us to question the reasons both for Roderick’s decision to contact the narrator in this time of need and the bizarre tenacity of narrator’s response. While Poe provides the recognizable building blocks of the Gothic tale, he contrasts this standard form with a plot that is inexplicable, sudden, and full of unexpected disruptions. The story begins without complete explanation of the narrator’s motives for arriving at the house of Usher, and this ambiguity sets the tone for a plot that continually blurs the real and the fantastic.

Poe creates a sensation of claustrophobia in this story. The narrator is mysteriously trapped by the lure of Roderick’s attraction, and he cannot escape until the house of Usher collapses completely. Characters cannot move and act freely in the house because of its structure, so it assumes a monstrous character of its own—the Gothic mastermind that controls the fate of its inhabitants. Poe, creates confusion between the living things and inanimate objects by doubling the physical house of Usher with the genetic family line of the Usher family, which he refers to as the house of Usher. Poe employs the word “house” metaphorically, but he also describes a real house. Not only does the narrator get trapped inside the mansion, but we learn also that this confinement describes the biological fate of the Usher family. The family has no enduring branches, so all genetic transmission has occurred incestuously within the domain of the house. The peasantry confuses the mansion with the family because the physical structure has effectively dictated the genetic patterns of the family.

The claustrophobia of the mansion affects the relations among characters. For example, the narrator realizes late in the game that Roderick and Madeline are twins, and this realization occurs as the two men prepare to entomb Madeline. The cramped and confined setting of the burial tomb metaphorically spreads to the features of the characters. Because the twins are so similar, they cannot develop as free individuals. Madeline is buried before she has actually died because her similarity to Roderick is like a coffin that holds her identity. Madeline also suffers from problems typical for women in -nineteenth--century literature. She invests all of her identity in her body, whereas Roderick possesses the powers of intellect. In spite of this disadvantage, Madeline possesses the power in the story, almost superhuman at times, as when she breaks out of her tomb. She thus counteracts Roderick’s weak, nervous, and immobile disposition. Some scholars have argued that Madeline does not even exist, reducing her to a shared figment Roderick’s and the narrator’s imaginations. But Madeline proves central to the symmetrical and claustrophobic logic of the tale. Madeline stifles Roderick by preventing him from seeing himself as essentially different from her. She completes this attack when she kills him at the end of the story.

Doubling spreads throughout the story. The tale highlights the Gothic feature of the doppelganger, or character double, and portrays doubling in inanimate structures and literary forms. The narrator, for example, first witnesses the mansion as a reflection in the tarn, or shallow pool, that abuts the front of the house. The mirror image in the tarn doubles the house, but upside down—an inversely symmetrical relationship that also characterizes the relationship between Roderick and Madeline.

The story features numerous allusions to other works of literature, including the poems “The Haunted Palace” and “Mad Trist” by Sir Launcelot Canning. Poe composed them himself and then fictitiously attributed them to other sources. Both poems parallel and thus predict the plot line of “The Fall of the House of Usher.” “Mad Trist,” which is about the forceful entrance of Ethelred into the dwelling of a hermit, mirrors the simultaneous escape of Madeline from her tomb. “Mad Trist” spookily crosses literary borders, as though Roderick’s obsession with these poems ushers their narratives into his own domain and brings them to life.

The crossing of borders pertains vitally to the Gothic horror of the tale. We know from Poe’s experience in the magazine industry that he was obsessed with codes and word games, and this story amplifies his obsessive interest in naming. “Usher” refers not only to the mansion and the family, but also to the act of crossing a -threshold that brings the narrator into the perverse world of Roderick and Madeline. Roderick’s letter ushers the narrator into a world he does not know, and the presence of this outsider might be the factor that destroys the house. The narrator is the lone exception to the Ushers’ fear of outsiders, a fear that accentuates the claustrophobic nature of the tale. By undermining this fear of the outside, the narrator unwittingly brings down the whole structure. A similar, though strangely playful crossing of a boundary transpires both in “Mad Trist” and during the climactic burial escape, when Madeline breaks out from death to meet her mad brother in a “tryst,” or meeting, of death. Poe thus buries, in the fictitious gravity of a medieval romance, the puns that garnered him popularity in America’s magazines.

"The Raven"

Analysis:

"The Raven" is the most famous of Poe's poems, notable for its melodic and dramatic qualities. The meter of the poem is mostly trochaic octameter, with eight stressed-unstressed two-syllable feet per lines. Combined with the predominating ABCBBB end rhyme scheme and the frequent use of internal rhyme, the trochaic octameter and the refrain of "nothing more" and "nevermore" give the poem a musical lilt when read aloud. Poe also emphasizes the "O" sound in words such as "Lenore" and "nevermore" in order to underline the melancholy and lonely sound of the poem and to establish the overall atmosphere. Finally, the repetition of "nevermore" gives a circular sense to the poem and contributes to what Poe termed the unity of effect, where each word and line adds to the larger meaning of the poem.

The unnamed narrator appears in a typically Gothic setting with a lonely apartment, a dying fire, and a "bleak December" night while wearily studying his books in an attempt to distract himself from his troubles. He thinks occasionally of Lenore but is generally able to control his emotions, although the effort required to do so tires him and makes his words equally slow and outwardly pacified. However,

over the course of the narrative, the protagonist becomes more and more agitated both in mind and in action, a progression that he demonstrates through his rationalizations and eventually through his increasingly exclamation-ridden monologue. In every stanza near the end, however, his exclamations are punctuated by the calm desolation of the sentence "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore,'" reflecting the despair of his soul.

Like a number of Poe's poems such as "Ulalume" and "Annabel Lee," "The Raven" refers to an agonized protagonist's memories of a deceased woman. Through poetry, Lenore's premature death is implicitly made aesthetic, and the narrator is unable to free himself of his reliance upon her memory. He asks the raven if there is "balm in Gilead" and therefore spiritual salvation, or if Lenore truly exists in the afterlife, but the raven confirms his worst suspicions by rejecting his supplications. The fear of death or of oblivion informs much of Poe's writing, and "The Raven" is one of his bleakest publications because it provides such a definitively negative answer. By contrast, when Poe uses the name Lenore in a similar situation in the poem "Lenore," the protagonist Guy de Vere concludes that he need not cry in his mourning because he is confident that he will meet Lenore in heaven.

Poe's choice of a raven as the bearer of ill news is appropriate for a number of reasons. Originally, Poe sought only a dumb beast that was capable of producing human-like sounds without understanding the words' meaning, and he claimed that earlier conceptions of "The Raven" included the use of a parrot. In this sense, the raven is important because it allows the narrator to be both the deliverer and interpreter of the sinister message, without the existence of a blatantly supernatural intervention. At the same time, the raven's black feather have traditionally been considered a magical sign of ill omen, and Poe may also be referring to Norse mythology, where the god Odin had two ravens named Hugin and Munin, which respectively meant "thought" and "memory." The narrator is a student and thus follows Hugin, but Munin continually interrupts his thoughts and in this case takes a physical form by landing on the bust of Pallas, which alludes to Athena, the Greek goddess of learning.

Due to the late hour of the poem's setting and to the narrator's mental turmoil, the poem calls the narrator's reliability into question. At first the narrator attempts to give his experiences a rational explanation, but by the end of the poem, he has ceased to give the raven any interpretation beyond that which he invents in his own head. The raven thus serves as a fragment of his soul and as the animal equivalent of Psyche in the poem "Ulalume." Each figure represents its respective character's subconscious that instinctively understands his need to obsess and to mourn. As in "Ulalume," the protagonist is unable to avoid the recollection of his beloved, but whereas Psyche of "Ulalume" sought to prevent the unearthing of painful memories, the raven actively stimulates his thoughts of Lenore, and he effectively causes his own fate through the medium of a non-sentient animal.

The scarlet letter

Sin and guilt is the inward conflict that is continuously mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorn's book The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth experience the effects of sin and guilt in different forms and are forced to handle they're delimmas. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are both convicted for having the sin of adultery while Roger Chillingworth is guilty of having the sin of revenge. Hester has shown to deal with her sin of adultery in the most effective way and has used it to her advantage while Dimmesdale has handled his sin in the least effective way.

Throughout the novel, there are different forms of sin and guilt which are handled in unique ways. The

sin that Hester Prynne has committed is adultery. She is guilty of the crime and is punished by society for

it with the scarlet letter. Hester takes the scarlet letter without remorse and she manages her sin by

situating her punishment to her advantage. She is cast out of the village and is forced to live in the forest

along with Pearl. She handles her guilt by devoting her life and knowledge to aid Pearl in growing and

becoming a well respected person. Hester shows her devotion when she states" quote". Hester also deals

with her guilt by seeing the light in her situation. Since Hester is no longer a real part of society, she

doesn't have to constantly conform to Puritan life styles. Hester feels free to express her opinions in her

house in the forest and does so by doing things such as letting her hair down or let Pearl adventure

outside. Eventually people who begin to notice this change in Hester start to see a new meaning to the

scarlet letter as well which is shown in Chapter 13 Hester does not truly feel shame for her actions which

is why she is able to use her situation to her advantage and handle her sin and guilt so effectively.

Hester has fornicated with Dimmesdale therefore he is also guilty of the sin of adultery. Dimmesdale

manages his guilt of adultery in a much different way than Hester. He pretends like it doesn't exist in the

public eye. Dimmesdale feels truly shameful of the sin and his guilt increases after the community

tortures Hester. Dimmesdale has to confront himself and fight the inward conflict he has with himself. He

handles his situation by fasting and praying. Since Dimmesdale is a preacher he has become a hypocrite

and lost his own sense of judgement. Dimmesdale believes he truly can't tell right from wrong and he

deals with his position by blindingly befriending Roger Chillingworth. Dimmesdale's lack of confidence

in his own judgment is evident in chapter 11. Eventually the guilt of comitting adultery causes

Dimmesdale to grow weak; so after deciding he can withstand it no longer, he decides to ultimately

handle his guilt by confessing. Confessing the sin is so liberating to Dimmesdale, which is shown when

he speaks to Hester for the final time is chapter 23 , that his soul escapes his body. Dimmesdale was

constantly being conflicted with the choice to pretend to be utterly oblivious to Hester and the sin or to

outwardly confess.

The sin that Roger Chillingworth committed was the sin of revenge. He felt no shame toward his sin and

he showed no sympathy for Dimmesdale's suffering. Chillingworth wanted to advance Dimmesdale's

suffering by playing mind games such as the one shown in Chapter 11. Chillingworth takes care of his

guilt by devoting his life to prolonging Dimmesdale's suffering. Chillingworth is so dedicated to exacting

his revenge that once Dimmesdale confesses and his soul is released, Chillingworth has no reason to live

anymore. His eventual fate is shown when his death is described in Chapter 24. Chillingworth sinned out

of anger for the adultery and he never felt any shame for his revenge because to him it wasn't a sin, but

more like a goal.

The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism

British Literature Matt Gordon 9-22-96

Symbolism in literature is the deepness and hidden meaning in a piece of

work. It is often used to represent a moral or religious belief or value.

Without symbolism literature is just a bunch of meaningless words on paper. The

most symbolic piece of work in American Literature is Nathaniel Hawthorne's The

Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is one of

the most significant contributions to the rise of American Literature.

Much of Hawthorne's symbolism is very hard to find but several symbols are

also obvious. In the first chapter Hawthorne describes the prison as "the black

flower of civilized society". The prison represents the crime and punishment

that was incorporated in the early Puritan life. He also contrasts the prison

with the tombstone at the end of the novel by suggesting that crime and

punishment bring about the end of civilized life. In the same chapter he

describes the overgrown vegetation of weeds around the prison. The weeds

symbolize how corrupt civilization really is. He also points out a positive

symbol, the wild rose bush. This represents the blossoming of good out of the

darkness of all civilized life.

The most important symbol which is carried throughout the novel is

undoubtedly the scarlet letter A. It initially symbolizes the immoral act of

adultery but by the end of the novel the "A" has hidden much more meaning than

that. The "A" appears in many other places than on the chest of Hester Prynne.

It is seen on the armor breastplate at Governor Bellingham's mansion. At night

while Dimmesdale is standing on the scaffold he sees a bright red letter A in

the sky. While Pearl is playing near the bay shore she arranges some grass in

the form of an A on her own breast. But one of the most important A's is one

the spectators see burnt on Dimmesdale's chest.

he Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex

and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne.

Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic symbol - one that is

always changing. In the following essay, I will explore some of the symbolism

which Pearl came to represent throughout the novel.

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, for her sins, received a scarlet letter,

"A" which she had to wear upon her chest. This was the Puritan way of treating

her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. The Puritan treatment continued,

because as Hester would walk through the streets, she would be looked down upon

as if she were some sort of demon from Hell, that committed a terrible crime.

This would give her much mental anguish and grief. On the other hand, God's

treatment of Hester for her sin was quite different than just a physical token:

he gave Hester the punishment of a very unique child which she named Pearl.

This punishment handed down from God was a constant mental and physical reminder

to Hester of what she had done wrong, and she could not escape it. In this

aspect, Pearl symbolized God's way of punishing Hester for adultery.

The way Hester's life was ruined for so long was the ultimate price that

Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester's life was one almost never filled

with joy, but instead a constant nagging. Pearl would harass her mother over

the scarlet "A" which she wore. Pearl would also make her own "A" to wear, and

sometimes she played games with her mother's, trying to hit it with rocks. When

Hester would go into the town with Pearl, the other children would make fun of

her, and Pearl would yell and throw dirt at them. So, in this case, Pearl

symbolized the decimation of Hester's life and mental state.

Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that

Pearl was her treasure. 

Hester Pyrnne is a Puritan woman that thinks that her husband is dead or lost at sea. She has a love affair

with Dimmesdale that no one knows about but themselves. Hester is ridiculed for it because she has a

baby resulting from it, however nothing is done to Dimmesdale by his fellow Puritans because no one

knows that he took part in the affair and is the baby’s father. The Puritans show their disapproval of

Hester by doing a variety of things like spreading rumors, outcasting her, and even sewing a scarlet letter

“A” to her bosom. So is what being done here right? How about other Puritan views and attitudes? Are

they right as well? Well, it is clear that Hawthorne doesn’t think so, and he shows this in so many ways

and symbols that it is at some times hard to unfold. He clearly states in his writing that the Puritans are

sinners themselves in the way they act because they are stubborn and believe that their way is the only

way.

There are many examples in the book that show these views that he has. The first sign of these views

came in the second chapter. Here she is ridiculed by the entire Puritan society because of the adultery that

she has committed, but they don’t let her get off easy. They put her on the scaffold in front of the whole

town to be made an example of, and the whole village just starts talking about her and the scarlet letter on

her bosom. Why do they do this? Probably because they are afraid to become just like her. So what did

they do? The Puritans made an example of her. They were so bent on keeping the perfect society that

whenever anyone did something wrong they felt that they had humiliate the person to avoid this type of

situation from occurring again. However, in all probability this wasn’t the first time that this had occurred

in the community. It was just the first time that anyone had been caught in the community. So it scared

people to think that they were just like her.

Nathaniel Hawthorne chose the market place and the forest as settings used to symbolically develop his

portrait of society and the characters in The Scarlet Letter. In this novel a story unfolds of three people

who are torn apart by sin, revenge, and guilt. The market place reveals to the reader a place of restraint

and severe Puritan laws. The setting of the forest yields

the impressions of wild unrestraint and passion. 

The market place paints a careful picture of restraint and law that seldom delves into the depths of raw

human emotion. As we study the buildings, we receive an equally strict message. The churches plant a

vision of austere religion and conformity into the minds of eager readers. The closeness of the buildings

in proximity to one another demonstrates the level of care and

interest each member of the population is meant to take in the others. One of the most prominent

structures in the market place is the scaffold. “It was in short, the platform of the pillory; and above it rose

the framework of that instrument of discipline, so fashioned as to confine the human head in its tight

grasp, and thus holding it up to public gaze. The very ideal of ignominy was embodied and made manifest

in this contrivance of wood and iron” (56). It was made clear that this structure was a symbol of

punishment to the people, but it also came to be a symbol of sin, guilt, death, and release. 

How did this structure take on so many meanings throughout the book? The answer is that each time there

was an event occurring at the scaffold, each of the main characters was present. The place that Hawthorne

chose to unite the characters and hoard symbolic meaning was the scaffold. In the second chapter, entitled

“The Market-Place,” the reader is first introduced to Hester Prynne as she serves her punishment on the

scaffold with her child, Pearl, in her arms.

Who should punish a sinner? Should it be religion, society, or the

individual? In Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter all three affect the main character

Hester Prynne. Religion punishes her with the Scarlet Letter, society

ostracizes her as punishment, and individually she was able to move on in life

but still returned to her haunting past where she died.

Religion plays a big part in the Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne wore the

Scarlet Letter to remind her of the mistake ahe made. Instaed of taking Pearl

away the people wanted her to wear the "A" for adultry. Hester brought up her

child forcing the the thought of the heavenily father. Hester's whole lifestyle

was altered. She obeyed everyone and for seven years was cursed by standing on

the scaffold. The people's beliefs strongly enforced the idea that Hester would

wear the Scarlet Letter, so she did. It constantly forced the tought of the sin

she had committed

and would haunt her for good. "I have thought have death," said

she, - "have wished for it, - would even have prayed for it, were it fit that

such as I should pray for anything."

Society was an influence on the scarlet letter. People of the town

believed that Hester was a witch as well as sinner. Society ostracized her

because no one in the town had ever delt with any kind of sin as adultry so they

looked at her as a witch. The people in a way wanted to ruin her life because

people actually thought she was bad. One of the real canadites that wanted to

ruin Hester was Mistress Hibbins.

Through out the whole story Mistress Hibbins constantly gives Hester her

piece of mind.

"Thou thyself wilt see it, one time or another. They say, child, thou art of

the lineage of the Prince of the Air! Wilt thou ride with me, some fine night,

to see thy father."

Individually she was ostracized and critizied no matter where she went.

Cantec despre mine insumi (Walt Whitman)

1

Astăzi cânt despre mine;

Şi-n ceea ce zic despre mine vă puteţi încrede,

Pentru că fiecare atom al meu este şi al vostru.

Îmi chem sufletul să stăm la taifas

Alene hoinăresc după pofta inimii, mă aplec

să observ suliţa ierbii vara

Limba, fiecare strop de sânge, toate-s plămădite

din solul, din aerul acesta;

Născut aici, din părinţi de pe aceste meleaguri,

iar părinţii părinţilor mei de asemenea,

Eu, la treizeci şi şapte, sănătos, voinic încep,

Sperând să nu mă mai opresc până la moarte

Lăsând deoparte crezurile şi şcolile,

O distanţă între noi nu strică, deşi le ţin mereu în atenţie,

Găzdui-voi în portul meu binele şi răul

şi las să glăsuiască întîmplarea

Natura fără oprelişti, cu energia ei firească

“Song of Myself”

Arguable one of greatest works by Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”, contains 52 sections. It was

published in 1855 and later expanded under “Leaves of Grass” poetry collection. The first section of the

poem, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself”, consists of 4 stanzas and 13 lines. The major theme in this

section is “All humans are from nature, thus we shall all return to nature”. Walt Whitman discusses the

fact that all of us will reunite back to where we came from. In “Song of Myself” Whitman believed that

nature could not be owned and was more important any human. Walt Whitman discusses the natural

phenomena of life cycle in the poem. “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, –And what I assume you shall

assume,” (lines 1-2). Whitman believed that nature was above all things. When this poem was written

when America was changing as far as nature was concern. 

Written in 1881 by Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”, is known to “represent the core of Whitman’s

poetic vision” (Greenspan). To many people, this poem is confusing and complex because of the

wordplay and symbolism. This poem “requires a large perspective; you must not get your face too near

the book. You must bring to it a magnanimity of spirt, a charity and faith equal to its own.” (Burroughs)

Whitman starts out by introducing the subject the poem, himself, and continues to celebrate this topic. He

uses terms such as “I”, “myself” and his inner soul to create a sense of being and description in certain

parts of the poem. Although the main theme seems to be himself, himself is actually a symbol for the

American humanity as whole. Whitman believes that everyone, even animals, share each other’s

experiences. For him, there is no single person that stands alone with their own thoughts and feelings.

“No single person is the subject of Whitman’s song, or can be; the individual suggests a group, and the

group a multitude, each a unit of which is as interesting as every other unit, and possesses equal claims to

recognition. Hence the recurring tendency of his poems to become catalogues of person and things” (qtd.

in Mason) Overall, he believes that everything and everyone shares an understanding and connection.

Throughout “Song of Myself”, Walt Whitman connects himself with others by using his own identity as a

symbol for the American people, making everyone equal in every sense of their being, and the form of

friendship.

One way Whitman connects himself to others is by using terms associated with his own personal identity

as a symbolic representation for the American people. One term used for this concept is the term “I”. At

first glance, many assume that “I” is Whitman himself, but “I” is referring to everyone in America

In the opening line of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” it becomes immediately evident that his song is

not about himself, but about the entire human race: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I

assume you shall assume, / for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you”. His poem extols the

mundane aspects of everyday life that a traditional poet of his day would not have considered worthy of

poetic material. The meaning of his poem is best expressed in a quote from the Declaration of

Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the

Pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 417). Whitman’s “Song” is influenced heavily by this belief, but also

makes its claims even more radical; it is not only a re-declaration that men of all social classes should be

held in equal importance—a belief that had been forgotten by many in the restrictive, uptight society of

the Victorian era—, but goes beyond the original meaning to extend this equality to minorities and

women as well. Whitman glorifies the settings and inhabitants of nature as a model for human society in

“Song of Myself,” using it to extend equality and liberty to new groups of people, among them minorities

and women.

While “Song of Myself” is crammed with significant detail, there are three key episodes that must be

examined. The first of these is found in the sixth section of the poem. A child asks the narrator “What is

the grass?” and the narrator is forced to explore his own use of symbolism and his inability to break

things down to essential principles. The bunches of grass in the child’s hands become a symbol of the

regeneration in nature. But they also signify a common material that links disparate people all over the

United States together

The Texture of the Sixth Poem of Song of Myself 

In number six of Whitman's poetic series "Song of Myself," it seems that he is trying to convey the point

that to die is not what people make it out to be. Whitman throughout many of the poems in this series,

describes death as "lucky" and beneficial. He also explains how death leads to the beginning of life in this

poem. The tone at the very beginning of this poem seems a bit youthful. Especially when the question

"What is grass?" is posed to him by a child. This opening line gives you a great mental picture of a child

about the age of five or six, walking up and asking innocently a question that you cannot answer. By

using the line, "fetching it to me with full/ hands;" Whitman gives you that image right from the

beginning. From there he goes into this sort of naïve tone, guessing what grass means. By doing so he

shows himself to be mortal and not all-knowing. 

During this time in the poem, he gives beautiful metaphorical imagery, comparing the grass to other

things and illustrating a better idea of what the grass is. Also during this speculation period, the wording

becomes denser, as the ideas become complex. Whitman moves from the single-lined "childish" voice,

into the adult stage of the poem. Here, he becomes surer of what the grass is and does less guessing.

Around line 101, Whitman starts toward the turning point in the essay, describing the death aspect of the

grass. Words like "dark" change the mood of the poem to a slower, sadder state. At line 110, the poem

takes a sudden change and reads much quicker. It changes into a kind of argument and Whitman speaks

more affirmatively. Now it seems as if he has been enlightened and understands what the grass is. The

feeling of death changes to life and darkness changes to light. 

Differences Between Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson's works have numerous differences. Compared to Dickinson's short

and seemingly simple poems, Whitman's are long and often complex. Both pioneered their own unique

style of writing. 

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson both have been hailed as original and unique artists. They each have

distinctive voices that many have attempted to replicate and have been unable to do so. Whitman wrote in

epic like proportions; he developed his own rhythmic structure, creating complex lines and stanzas.

Whitman's style of free verse become synonymous with his name and works, and helped distinguish him

as a great American poet. By using free verse poetry, Whitman tore down the boundary and structure of

traditional poetry with the rhythm of cadence, allowing all types of people to use poetry as a form of

expression. Whitman's poems tend to run on and on; there was no set length for his poems, stanzas, or

even lines. Dickinson, on the other hand, wrote poems with a definite structure. She wrote ballad stanzas,

which were four line stanzas alternating in iambic tetrameter and trimeter. So the structure of their poems

is very different. Another difference between their poetry is the use of rhyme. As with structure,

Whitman's poetry has no rhyme. In this way Whitman also breaks from tradition. Dickinson's poems,

unlike Whitman's, made use of slant rhyme. This is the use of near or approximate rhymes, and is a

relatively modern idea. So this is yet another way in which they differ in style. First, the most

forthcoming evidence of their differences would be the structure that the poets use to express themselves

through. Whitman uses free verse in his poems. A clear representation of this is any excerpt from "Song

of Myself". This poem has a set rhythm, but no definite rhyme scheme.

Analysis of "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"

The poets of the nineteenth century wrote on a variety of topics. Oneoften used topic is that of death. The theme of death has been approached inmany different ways. Emily Dickinson is one of the numerous poets who usesdeath as the subject of several of her poems. In her poem "Because I Could NotStop for Death," death is portrayed as a gentleman who comes to give the speakera ride to eternity. Throughout the poem, Dickinson develops her unusualinterpretation of death and, by doing so, composes a poem full of imagery thatis both unique and thought provoking. Through Dickinson's precise style of

writing, effective use of literary elements, and vivid imagery, she creates apoem that can be interpreted in many different ways.The precise form that Dickinson uses throughout "Because" helps conveyher message to the reader. The poem is written in five quatrains. The way inwhich each stanza is written in a quatrain gives the poem unity and makes iteasy to read. "I Could Not Stop for Death" gives the reader a feeling offorward movement through the second and third quatrain. For example, in line 5,Dickinson begins death's journey with a slow, forward movement, which can beseen as she writes, "We slowly drove-He knew no haste." The third quatrainseems to speed up as the trinity of death, immortality, and the speaker pass thechildren playing, the fields of grain, and the setting sun one after another.The poem seems to get faster and faster as life goes through its course. Inlines 17 and 18, however, the poem seems to slow down as Dickinson writes, "Wepaused before a House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground-." The reader isgiven a feeling of life slowly ending. Another way in which Dickinson uses theform of the poem to convey a message to the reader occurs on line four as shewrites, "And Immortality."

In Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death " (448), the speaker of the poem is a woman who relates about a situation after her death. The speaker personifies death as a polite and considerate gentleman who takes her in a carriage for a romantic journey; however, at the end of this poem, she finishes her expedition realizing that she has died many years ago. 

The poem contains six quatrains, and does not follow any consistent rhyme scheme. Every line starts with a strong beat and ends up with a weak beat. The first and third lines in each stanza have iambic tetrameter, but the second and fourth lines do not contain any consistent meter. The feet generate a rhythm the following way. 

This rhythm mimics the sound of horses' hooves on the ground. Emily Dickinson correlates the speaker's expression of her journey "toward Eternity-"(l. 24) with horses' hoofed feet in her allegory (Class note). 

In the first stanza, she begins her journey with a refined gentleman named Death who takes her in the carriage. Even though in the first line "Because I could not stop for Death" (l. 1), the poet gives us a hint of the speaker's disappearance in the world, the speaker thinks that she is still alive. The poet chooses a special term "Immortality" (l. 4) to show that at the beginning of her journey the speaker is young and enthusiastic to tell about her existence of life in the world and that she cannot think of dying. 

In the second stanza, Death drives her so smoothly and gently that the ride makes her very happy. She is

so naïve and adolescent that she leaves her worldly activities and gets ready to go out and spend time with her boyfriend. She gives him her possessions: her "labor" and "leisure" too (l. 7) for his politeness.

Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death" is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson's poem a masterpiece with strange "haunting power." In Dickinson's poem, "Because I could not stop for Death," there is much impression in the tone, in symbols, and in the use of imagery that exudes creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone in Dickinson's poem. Dickinson uses controlling adjectives"slowly" and "passed"to create a tone that seems rather placid. For example, "We � �slowly droveHe knew no haste / We passed the School / We passed the Setting Sun," sets a slow, quiet, � � � �calm, and dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). "One thing that impresses us," one author wrote, "is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone" (Greenberg 128). The tone in Dickinson's poem will put its readers' ideas on a unifying track heading towards a boggling atmosphere. Dickinson's masterpiece lives on complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which carry her readers through her poem. Besides the literal significance of the "School," "Gazing Grain," "Setting Sun," and the "Ring"much is � �gathered to complete the poem's central idea. Emily brought to light the mysteriousness of life's cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one's life, as symbolized by Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of eternity. These three stages are recognized by Mary N. Shaw as follows: "School, where children strove"(9) may represent childhood; "Fields of Gazing Grain"(11), maturity; and "Setting Sun" (12) old age" (21). In addition to these three stages, the final stage of eternity was symbolized in the last two lines of the poem, the "Horses Heads" (23), leading "towards Eternity" (24). Dickinson fathomed the incomprehensible progression of life by unraveling its complexity with figurative symbols.

After Great Pain a Formal Feeling Comes

Elements of despair evident from the inner workings of Emily Dickinson are present in her poem, "After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes--." Emily Dickinson led a difficult life which left her alone. These feelings of sorrow and isolation have produced works by Dickinson which question human existence and thought. Such works include the theme of despair which is inextricably related to spiritual strivings and misgivings. They lead inevitably to her thematic concern with man's knowledge of death and his dream of immortality, directly relevant to "After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes--."

In this poem, Emily Dickinson renders the extinction of consciousness by pain in terms of a funeral. The reader perceives the first of three stages of a funeral ceremony, the formal service. After the onset of suffering through death, the presence of finality through a funeral rises. The second stanza brings with it the second stage of the ceremony, carrying off the casket by pallbearers.

My Life had stood- a Loaded Gun

Emily Dickinson's poem is an allegory, which on the symbolic level, the "Gun" represents the poet and the "Master" represents the person or soul mate that was meant to be the "poet". The speaker in the poem is clearly the "Gun" this is clear in the second stanza when the speaker says "And every time I speak for Him--/ The Mountains straight reply" "I" stands for the "Gun". This is also a personification because the "Gun" is being attributed human traits. The poem begins "My Life had stooda Loaded Gun--" This line is �

a metaphor. Dickinson juxtapose her life to a "Loaded Gun" what gives the impression that the speaker had the power to control because guns are object used either to express authority or command, and again hints the theme of the poem which is "power". The poem is told in lyrical form. The tone of this poem is one of passion this is established in the fist stanza where the speaker says "My Life had stooda Loaded �Gun--/ In Corners--" the word corners gives the impression that the speaker felt inutile until his/ her soul mate came for him/her. "till a day the Owner passed--identified--/ and carried Me away". Words such as "� shared", "carried", " roam", work together to establish a loving mood. Like in most of Dickinson's poetry, the reader encounters an unconventional style and the same punctuation and capitalization usage which denote an emphasis on important words or her refusal to use periods which mark an end while dashes convey a continuation. This poem resembles a ballad telling an adventure of a "Gun" and its "Owner" who cannot act without his "Gun". The fist stanza alludes to the poet's life to that of an inanimate object "Gun" something not living, yet full of power, hence the word "Loaded". The second stanza implies that whenever she speaks on his behalf, which is the "Gun" firing, "The Mountains straight reply--" by echoing.

Emily Dickinson is a poet known for her cryptic, confusing language. Words are often put together in an unusual way and create deciphering difficulties for the reader. But behind all the confusion is a hidden meaning that becomes clear, and one realizes that all the odd word choices were chosen for a specific reason. The poem I will try to analyze is My Life Had Stood—A Loaded Gun, or number 754. I find this to be one of her most difficult poems to decode. However, I find the images fascinating and the last stanza very confusing but intriguing. What I first thought the poem was about and what I finally came to a conclusion on are two completely different thoughts. Through answering questions on the poem’s literary elements, thorough analysis of the words, and rewriting the poem in my own words, I came to the conclusion that the poem is about a person who was taken on a journey with someone who saw something in her that was unrealized by anyone else, and the narrator clung to that person through their time together. First, I will take apart the poem in terms of its use of literary elements. The diction of the poem is abstract and vague, in that it’s hard for the reader to easily understand what the narrator is really talking about. Dickinson uses particular, specific words for description: for example, in stanza four, when talking about a pillow the bird Eider-Duck is mentioned. She could have just said a duck’s or goose’s feathers, but she specifically writes Eider-Duck, which I found out is a fowl known for it’s fluffy feathers (hence the appropriate connection to the pillow). Dickinson also uses the word ‘sovereign’ when talking about the woods the narrator and companion walked through. Why she would use a word synonymous with ‘supreme power’ I wasn’t able to figure out yet. The tone seems reflective, as if the narrator is retelling the story over, having thought about it many times.

This poem was written by the American poet Emily Dickinson around the year 1863. It is probably one of the most complex of all Dickinson’s poems because it does not have a single coherent and satisfactory interpretation. This is due to the fact that it exemplifies her technique of the ‘omitted centre’, a device by which the author omits information that is crucial to the understanding of the poem. Nevertheless, the aim of the present paper is not to discuss the manifold possible interpretations of the poem. Its aim is rather to try to explain it or analyze it from a feminist point of view, highlighting how it gives an image of a woman different from the one people are used to, as well as how it inverts the gender roles but accepting them at the same time.

The speaker starts by presenting herself as “a Loaded Gun”, that is as a mortal weapon capable of killing and destroying. This can be understood as the poet’s rejection of the traditional ideas and images about femininity, she is portraying herself as strong and potentially active in opposition to the common ideas of weakness and passivity associated with women. Later on, in the third stanza, she will compare herself to a volcano, turning the possibility of destruction – a contingent fact up until that point –into a reality. So now she is not only telling the reader that she can be active, dangerous, and destructive, but she is actually being it: the previous threat is now an event. This image of the volcano is even more important because it is a common one, used also by Emerson – one of her greatest influences – to refer to the poet. The difference is that whereas in Emerson’s essay The Poet it is a rather benignant image – this of the volcano – used to portray the poet as a power of nature

Nature: Emerson first sought an answer to the question of the place of man in a "science" of nature. His essay, Nature, was published in 1836, and is the main text by Emerson and about transcendantalism. It  is divided into 8 parts.1.      Nature: it is an experience of solitude. He first notes that when one wants to be alone, one can look at the stars because they inspire a feeling of respect, because they remain inaccessible. He adds: " If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!" All the objects in nature entail such an impression of wisdom, happiness and simplicity.Emerson insists on the importance of this link between man and nature. He says: "His intercourse with heaven and earth becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows." This power of ecstasy is not due only to nature, but to the human, to the harmony between the two. In fact, on contact with nature, we become an integral part of God.Finally, Emerson adds that we have to use the pleasure of nature with some moderation because "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit".2. Commodity: Nature is perfectly fitted for human beings, as Emerson said: "All the parts incessantly work into each other's hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the animal; and thus the endless circulations of the divine charity nourish man".

Emerson seems to have an idyllic vision of nature as something which is alive and surrounds men and which is at their service. However, his vision does not reject industry as being in contradiction with nature: for him, both are complementary.

3. Beauty: he divides the latter into three elements: first, beauty as a pleasure in perceiving natural forms, as a relief for men. Then, beauty as "the mark God sets upon virtue". Concerning this aspect, he provides a really romantic explanation of the phenomenon, when he says, for instance, that he sees beauty and virtue "when Leonidas and his three hundred martyrs consume one day in dying, and the sun and moon come each and look at them once in the steep defile of Thermopylae". To conclude, he considers beauty as an object of the intellect, saying for instance that "The production of a work of art throws a light upon the mystery of humanity".

His conceptions of values are really close to those of the Greeks: for him Truth, Goodness and Beauty are the same thing ("Truth, and goodness, and beauty, are but different faces of the same All"), as they are for Plato.4.  Language: for Emerson, "Language is a third use which Nature subserves to man". First, he notes that words are signs of natural facts. For instance, "Right means straight; wrong means twisted. Spirit primarily means wind; transgression, the crossing of a line". Then, he realizes the existence of a universal symbolism, when he says: "Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact". This can be compared to the symbolism in poetry, like that of Paul Verlaine, when the latter writes, for instance "your soul is a selected landscape" [votre âme est un paysage choisi,Fêtes Galantes].5. Discipline: Every material event is a lesson which the soul has to take as a spiritual lesson. Discipline can be defined as a capacity to make one's actions dependent on some key principles. We can take the example of the ploughman: his activity is always linked to nature, to the season. The ploughman has to follow the constancy of nature as a discipline to achieve his work. Actually, men have to be inspired by nature in their moral being and follow nature's principles, like resistance or inertia.Another important idea in this chapter is the pragmatism demanded by Emerson: his idealism is a practical idealism when he says: "good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed". We can compare his thought with that of the 20th century German thinker and sociologist Mannheim: a utopia only exists if it is implemented.To conclude, in this chapter, he opposes the philosophy of the Ancients when he says: "Nature is thoroughly mediate. It is made to serve. It receives the dominion of man as meekly as the ass on which the Saviour rode. It offers all its kingdoms to man as the raw material which he may mould into what is useful". Whereas the Ancients considered man as one element among others in the Cosmos, Emerson is also heir to the galileo-cartesian revolution in which man stopped considering himself as an element like any other in nature, but as the master and owner of it (Descartes). Like Bacon, Emerson thinks that we have to question nature to make it confess its secrets.6. Idealism: Emerson is opposed to a Christian vision of nature. In Genesis, after the fall of Adam and Eve from Eden, God says "cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field". Adam will have to work to harvest the fruits of the soil. On the contrary, Emerson does not consider nature as miserly or cursed, but in the service of man.7. Spirit: The essential for man is to recognize the Spirit in nature.8. Prospects: Emerson concludes his essay by offering to build man's spirituality by a new vision of nature.

Emerson's "Self-Reliance"

Emerson's "Self-Reliance" teaches us to trust ourselves. By ourselves, we have unique voices and opinions, which society shuts down as soon as we confront other people and the group. Society's primary concern is creating wealth and status, while the individual's concern is self-expression and fulfillment. We want to take life slow, savor every moment, express ourselves, and explore many talents and skills. Society wants us to be big shots, put all our education towards one career, weed out our competitors to become successful, and make more money than we could ever need. But since society's goal's are so engrained inside us, we must learn to trust our own instincts as to what society tells us.

Emerson states that in solitude, individuals have voices, "which grow faint and inaudible as we enter the world." Some of these thoughts and opinions that people come up with in solitude might cause fear when presented to society. Since society is such a delicate structure based on fear of chaos, any novel voice will make the person who spoke it become "the other." Fear of alienation prevents voices from leaving solitude into the realm of society.

Emerson states that individuals who work hard and pursue fulfillment should not be proud of the possessions they acquired. He says, "a cultivated man becomes ashamed of his property, ashamed of what he has, out of respect for his own being," meaning that acquiring property is just an accident. If you trust yourself and work towards the proper development of yourself by discovery of your innermost talents, then you should not accept society's false reward of property. An ordinary person doing his best work is just as valuable as the "great" lives of kings and royalty. The greatest reward is knowing that you have found your own unique self, and fully trust it.

Fulfillment verses success, self expression verses conformity, and solitude verses the group are important factors to distinguish. Emerson in "Self-Reliance" is not advocating staying in solitude, because humans are social beings. Rather he wants us to discover ourselves away from society, and then confront society as our fulfilled and cultivated selfs. In reality, the wealth power structure of society is just a response to fear of our chaotic world, and if we just embrace this chaos, we might be more fulfilled, happy people. Trust yourself. Learn to let go.Trust Your Own Inner Voice

.......Emerson urges his readers to retain the outspokenness of a small child who freely speaks his mind. A child he has not yet been corrupted by adults who tell him to do otherwise. He also urges readers to avoid envying or imitating others viewed as models of perfection; instead, he says, readers should take pride in their own individuality and never be afraid to express their own original ideas. In addition, he says, they should refuse to conform to the ways of the popular culture and its shallow ideals; rather they should live up to their own ideals, even if doing so reaps them criticism and denunciation.

Avoid Consistency as an End in Itself

.......Being consistent is not always wise. An idea or regimen to which you stubbornly cling can become outmoded tomorrow.

Emerson Oversoul?Emerson's perception of the oversoul is that every single human being has a sprit that comprehends God, therefore every soul represents the numerous souls present in the world. This simply meant that within man is the spirit of the entire, the prudent quiet, universal beauty, to which every measure and particle is equally connected to the everlasting One.

From what I understand, the oversoul for Emerson is the part of us that is in perfect unity with God. It links us to God, and it is perfect. It contains all future, and is the Creator within us. It is undisturbed by life and duality. It creates the world. Therefore History cannot be profane but sacred since it is created by the oversoul which is united with God. 

The “over-soul” is the real meaning of human perception, of mysticism, of an indwelling wisdom of God, by the opinion of writer. In this thesis, writer slips into his secretarial robe as well as distributes a

discourse on transcendentalism. This is the real victory of this essay. Human mind only notices pieces of the godly force in glimpses, although adequate to stir up his soul as well as the aspiration for a better harmony with the over-soul along with all of humankind. Writer says that if you wish to see God then you must look at yourself or at other people. God is living in each one’s mind. This is the main reason why writer says to avoid going to temples but taking care of people. This is a great message given for all people from all religions. There is no matter of birth, caste or religion in this. Anyone can meet God. Simply look at others. These people are God by other means.

Thus, this essay turns at the end when writer suggests readers to look at each other. It is necessary to think about your life instead of only thinking about God. God is looking at you and he loves you by all possible ways. If you are working for humanity then you are working for God. If you are selfish and only thinking about yourself every time, then going to temples or other holy places will not save you in any danger. But if you look at your others or care for others then for sure God will help you in every difficulty you will face in this life.

“Over-Soul” is really fantastic essay revealing a true meaning of sacred thoughts. If you are looking for God then he is present inside you and inside others. Just see the God inside you and accept every difficulty in life in positive manner. This God will assist you. He will show you the path you should opt for. There are no other thoughts hidden in this essay. The main aim is to introduce reader with the new imagination. Writer succeeds in explaining his thoughts. This essay surely creates a great impact on reader’s mind.

In his speech, "The American Scholar," Emerson expresses his distaste for the "mere thinkers" who obtain their ideas from the work of other men. These other men, called "Men Thinking," are the ones who truly deserve credit because they derive their ideas from nature and the world. A truly unique idea is often one that is stumbled upon by a man while he is alone, with no distractions or outside sources to draw information from. He simply takes his knowledge of the world and draws it together, as described by Emerson: "To the young mind everything is individual, stands by itself. By and by, it finds how to join two things and see in them one nature; then three, then three thousand; and so, tyrannized over by its own unifying instinct, it goes on tying things together, diminishing anomalies, discovering roots running under ground whereby contrary and remote things cohere and flower out from one stem." Nature allows man the freedom to tie together his knowledge and create his own ideas. Ideas that are truly new are ones that are discovered in this way by "Men Thinking", because ideas of mere thinkers are prompted by literature containing old ideas. Mere thinkers are the bookworms who spend their days studying the philosophies of thinkers, learning from them, but not creating their own ideas. Emerson writes that books are written by "Men of talent, that is who start wrong, who set out from accepted dogmas, not from their own sight of principles." He believes that these men, although intelligent, have been heavily influenced by other people, and therefore have biased opinions which have not come directly from their own minds. Mere thinkers combine theologies from various sources, but have little that they can consider to be their own private thought.Emerson's reasoning, although it seems logical, has a paradoxical flaw in it. Although he his advocating pure thought, by writing down his thoughts, he is helping to contribute to the massive amounts of mere thinkers who will hear his ideas and be influenced by them. Emerson writes that "The sacredness which attaches to the art of creation, the act of thought, is transferred to the record." He gives the impression that

he wants to keep creative thoughts sacred by not writing them down and making them available to others. Yet at the exact same time as he is describing this phenomenon, he is doing exactly what he is opposed to. Although he mentions later that the one good purpose books serve is to inspire, his work has done much more than simply inspiring people. He has become one of the great thinkers who people study; a more modern Cicero, Locke, or Bacon. His work has contributed more to the increase in population of mere thinkers than it has to the increase of "Man Thinking" because he is defying his own principle.

Chapter Five: Solitude

Summary

Thoreau's life at Walden Pond is characterized by solitude, which is aptly chosen as the title for this chapter. At Walden Pond, he experiences blissful peace, feeling enriched by the sounds of animals in the woods and wind in the trees. In one passage, he describes the coming of evening as a time when he feels as if he is becoming a part of Nature itself; his whole body absorbs and enjoys the beauty of the natural world. He feels the cool breeze and listens to the sounds of the croaking frogs, the rustling leaves, the lapping waves of the lake, and the whippoorwills. Even after it becomes dark, Thoreau senses the beauty of the things he can no longer see.

Thoreau's cottage is located about a mile away from his nearest neighbor; therefore, he rarely sees another human. Sometimes, however, when he has been out walking, he returns home to find that someone has come calling and left behind "a bunch of flowers, or a wreath in evergreen, or a name in pencil on a yellow walnut leaf or chip, (or)...a willow wand, woven into a ring, and dropped on (the) table." These small offerings are reminders to Thoreau about the pleasures of friendship.

Thoreau reflects that Nature offers the "most tender and sweet and encouraging society" to men. Even in his solitude at Walden Pond, Thoreau feels no more alone than a tree in the woods, the sun in the sky, or the grass on the ground. In the company of Nature, he feels surrounded by companions. When he thinks that he needs the company of other men, he tells himself that physical space does nothing to close the distance between two minds or hearts. People are connected not by physical proximity but by the strong connections of their spirits.

In all of his experiences, Thoreau tries to stand apart from his actions and observations and seek to analyze them objectively in order to better know himself. He sees this ability as a doubling of himself -- as a simultaneous participator and observer. Since observation is an individual action, even in a crowd he sees part of himself as being alone; but for Thoreau, being alone is a happy and healthy state. By contrast, being in the midst of others can quickly become tiresome. Ironically, being amongst people can make a person feel more alone than when the person is by himself.

Notes

This chapter further expresses some of Thoreau's philosophies about the relationship of man to Nature and man to man. Although he rarely sees another human being, he still feels close to his friends in spirit; he knows that physical distance does nothing to separate two kindred hearts or minds. He also appreciates the fact that friends occasionally come to call on him, and if he is not at home in the cabin, they leave him

small, natural presents. Thoreau also feels he is never alone in nature. He feels a oneness with the sun, the sky, the trees, the grass, and the wild animals.

In the pleasant company of these natural things, he feels as surrounded and occupied as a man among his closest friends. He rejects the possibility that a man could ever be lonely when immersed in the wonders of the natural world. Instead, man often feels lonely when he is in a crowd, observing the rules of etiquette and politeness.

A Summary of  Henry David Thoreau's "Solitude"

       Every part of Nature is connected to every other part, linked by a certain "sympathy" (111) to all the rest. Even when people are not physically present at Walden Pond, their interactions with nature are preserved in the traces they leave. Walden is so remote from most inhabitants, though, that it is essentially a world unto itself where one can exist in solitude. 

       Everything good comes from Nature. Storms and floods which first seem disastrous for one part of the woods prove beneficial for another area. To sensitive individuals, Nature extends a kind of friendship formed from the myriad links to every sight and sound of the forest. One feels the connection to nature so strongly that even the most foreign place would seem to have some degree of familiarity to it. 

      Given the degree of connection, one who loves nature is never truly alone. Solitude is much more than mere spatial isolation, however, for people can be lonely and isolated in the midst of crowds because their minds lack kindredness. Rather than seeking camaraderie by attempting to mix with other people, one should build one's life upon the connection to nature, that "perennial source of our life" (114). 

       Solitude provides a welcome opportunity for uninterrupted contemplation. Our own minds become our companions as a part of our consciousness comments on and criticizes our thoughts and actions. Such contemplation is important work: the student studying in college is working the fields of his mind every bit as much as a farmer works in his field. 

       People continue to mistakenly pursue companionship in crowded society, though true belonging might better be achieved "if there were but one inhabitant per square mile" (116) as at Walden Pond. People could then awaken to their real connections to nature and "come to know that we are never alone" (116) in the company of nature. 

       Nature keeps us company as though it were an old man who created and tended Walden Pond and carefully laid the shape and set the stones. Or nature can be likened to an old woman who sows her herb gardens and provides a rich vegetative abundance. Our sympathy with nature is more than spiritual: we are made from recycled natural matter itself. Nature is the source of our lives, mental and spiritual well-being, and even our physical health. 

Chapter Sixteen: The Pond in Winter

Summary

This chapter concerns itself mainly with the constitution of Walden Pond, a subject that Thoreau ponders on many different levels. Since a local myth argues that Walden Pond is bottomless, 2Thoreau decides to study the contour of the lake bottom by using his knowledge of surveying to measure its depth. Thoreau's study concludes that at its very deepest, the pond is just over 100 feet in depth. He then ponders the properties of the pond in winter. Since he must get his water from the pond, he must cut through the thick layer of ice to the water below. He is amazed at the sight of life underneath the frozen water. It encourages him to study the other frozen ponds in the area. As Thoreau surveyed and studied the other ponds, he came up with some theories about how they were all formed. He knows his ideas are full of flaws, for mankind is not able to fathom all the great laws of Nature.

In January, Irish laborers, under the direction of Yankee foremen, come to Walden Pond and break its frozen cover into large cubes which will be shipped to warmer climates all over the world. They work for sixteen days and remove approximately 10,000 tons of ice. At first, Thoreau is upset over this violation of his pond. He is later pacified by two events. The laborers occasionally fall through a crack in the ice to the freezing waters below; he watches as they are saved just before they freeze to death. It is as if the pond is fighting back. The second thing that pacifies Thoreau is the fact that the pond is re-frozen within a month, almost as a defiance against the stripping of its ice. He also is comforted by the thought that great men from all over the world will be enjoying the drinking water from his pond and that "the pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred waters of the Ganges."

Notes

Thoreau looks at Walden Pond in many different ways. Through surveying methodology, he measures the depth of the water and finds it to be 100 feet at its deepest point. He also studies the pond in its frozen state, noticing the various hues of the ice; up close the ice almost looks green, while at a distance it is white with a tint of blue. He compares the differing appearances of the ice to humans. People at a distance look and seem very different than when they are investigated up close. Thoreau then thinks about the fact that still water left alone becomes "putrid," whereas ice remains constantly fresh and pure. He compares the different states of water to the purities and impurities that human life goes through under different situations. As always, Thoreau sees many relationships between mankind and Nature.