Horvath1

SerenaHorvath
HonorsEnglish9
OConnor
15April2016

WaltWhitman(18191892)
ISitandLookOut
Isitandlookoutuponallthesorrowsoftheworld,anduponalloppressionandshame
Ihearsecretconvulsivesobsfromyoungmenatanguishwiththemselves,remorsefulafterdeeds
done
Iseeinlowlifethemothermisusedbyherchildren,dying,neglected,gaunt,desperate
Iseethewifemisusedbyherhusband,Iseethetreacherousseducerofyoungwomen
Imarktheranklingsofjealousy
andunrequited
loveattemptedtobehid

Iseethesesightson
theearth
Iseetheworkingsofbattle,pestilence,tyranny,Iseemartyrsandprisoners
Iobserveafamineatsea,Iobservethesailorscastinglotswhoshallbekill'dtopreservethe
livesoftherest
Iobservetheslightsanddegradationscastbyarrogantpersonsuponlaborers,thepoor,andupon
negroes
,andthelike
AlltheseallthemeannessandagonywithoutendIsittinglookoutupon,
See,hear,andamsilent.

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ISitandLookOut:Individualism

ISitandLookOutbyWaltWhitmanisoneofthemanypoetsthatdealtwith
controversialissuesofAmerica.WaltWhitmanisknownasoneofthemostinfluential
Americanpoetsofhistime,writingfamousliteraryworkslike
LeavesofGrass.
WaltWhitman
waslivinginatimeofcapitalism,whichaffectedmostofhiswritingsthatwerewritteninthe
nineteenthcentury.Thispoem,ISitandLookOutispessimisticandrealisticatthesametime.
Thisisconveyedbythespeakerssyntaxanddiction,theimagery,andtheunderlyingtheme.
ThespeakerswordchoiceisveryimportantinthepoemISitandLookOut.Hetalks
aboutproblemsandcontroversialissuesthatwashappening,manyofwhicharestillhappening
today.Whitmanusesconcretewordstodirectlyexplaintheproblemstothereaders.

Isitandlookoutuponallthesorrowsoftheworld,anduponalloppressionandshame
.(1).
Heavoidstheuseofwordsthatshowratherthantell.Thiscreatesalargeimpactontheway
thereaderreadsthepoem.Thespeakerisdirectlyspeakingtothereadersaboutissues,rather
thanexplainingtheminanotherform.Thisgivesthereaderasensethatthespeakerisassertive
andauthoritativeabouthisopinionsandbeliefs.Whitmanalsoincludesdescriptivelanguage
withspecificwords.ThisforcesthereadertoimaginethespecificimagethatWhitmanwantedto
convey.TheauthorconsistentlybeginsmostofhislineswithI,whichexplainstothereader
thatheisnotgeneralizingandthesearehisobservationsaboutthecontroversialissuesthatis
goingoninhiscommunityandtheworld.Thespeakerssyntaxanddictionconveysthetoneof
negativitythatWhitmanwantedtocreate.Imageryanddescriptivelanguagearealsoalarge
factortothetoneofthepoem.

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ImageryanddescriptivelanguagearealargepartofWhitmanspoemISitandLook
Out.Thisalsohelpssetupthethemeofthepoem.Thespeakeruseseloquentwordssuchas
gaunt,remorseful,andshametodescribecertaineventsheobserves.Therearetwolines
inthispoemdedicatedtothemistreatmentofwomen.
Iseeinlowlifethemothermisusedbyherchildren,dying,neglected,gaunt,desperate
Iseethewifemisusedbyherhusband,Iseethetreacherousseducerofyoungwomen(45).
Whitmanimplementstheuseofthesedescriptivewordstocreateaspecificimageinthereaders
mindofwhattheeventorsituationlookslike.Therecentlyquotedlinestellthereaders
somethingaboutthespeakerofthereaderaswell.Thespeakervalueswomenandisdedicating
theselinestoshowhowtheyareunfairlymistreatedbyherchildrenorherhusband.Imagery
alsohelpsproducethedramaticeventsandtragediesthatthespeakerhasobservedbefore.Many
oftheeventsWhitmandescribesrelatetoissuesorcatastrophicevents.

Iseetheworkingsofbattle,pestilence,tyranny,Iseemartyrsandprisoners
(8).
Withouttheimageryanddescriptivelanguageusedinthepoem,Whitmanwouldnothavebeen
abletomakeasbigasanimpactifhedid.Imageryanddescriptivelanguagehelpconveythe
themeofsocietynotbeingabletothinkoutsideotherpeoplesopinions.
ThereisamajorthemeinthepoemISitandLookOutbyWaltWhitman.Societyis
startingtobasetheiropinionsandtheiractionsonotheroutsideforcessuchasthegovernment.
Thetitlehintsatthethemeofthepoem.ISitandLookOutisaphrasethatmeansthespeaker
isnoticingandobservingalloftheseissuesintheworld.Whetherthepoemsissuesareabout
individualproblems,controversialtopics,orworldwideissues,thespeakerhasnointentionof
tryingtoresolveorcontributetothem.Inthelasttwolineofthepoem,thereisamajorshiftin

Horvath4
thepoem.Ratherthanthespeakertalkingabouttheproblemsandissues,hechangesgears.Itisa
messagetothereaders.

AlltheseallthemeannessandagonywithoutendIsittinglookoutupon,
See,hear,andamsilent.(1314)
Whitmanissayingthatweshouldnojustobservealltheproblemsthatarehappening,butrather
takeactionanddosomethingabouttheissuebeforeitbecomestoolate.Thispoemwaswritten
whencapitalismandindustrializationwereinaction,andthischangedmanyofthepopulations
moralsonhumanconcerns.Peopleweremorefocusedontheprinciplesandrules,andhuman
concernswereputaside.Thethemeofthispoemistobeanindividual,andifyoubelievein
somethingthatisnotright,youshouldtakeactionratherthansittingandnotchangingthe
situationathand.
Whitmanhasmanyliteraryelementsandreferencesinthispoemthatconveyhisattitude
andtoneofnegativityandpessimistic.Thespeakerisexplaininghisobservationsaboutthe
suffering,sorrow,anddegradationofthepeopleinhiscommunity.Whitmanssyntaxand
diction,hisimagery,andtheunderlyingthemeofindividualityarefactorsofhistoneinthe
poem.Thespeakerhasleftthetopicsopentodifferentopinionssothereaderscandeveloptheir
ownbeliefsonthesesocialandpoliticalissues.

Horvath5
SerenaHorvath
HonorsEnglish
OConnor
15April2016
Bibliography
"83.ISitandLookOut.Whitman,Walt.1900.LeavesofGrass."83.ISitandLookOut.
Whitman,Walt.1900.Leaves