While scrolling through Whitman's Journal I really struggled to make out any words in his passages. Because of this I focused mostly on the pictures. I really liked the pictures because they were very simple sketches but they still had distinct characteristics. Also, I noticed how every picture is drawn from the side, there is not a single picture that is drawn as a portrait. I find this interesting because it gives the picture more room for interpretation. What I mean by this is that the emption, or connections to the person drawn, is not distinctly revealed because it is drawn from the side.
After going over the journal entries a second time and gaining some insight on Whitman's sketches I made some new discoveries. First, I hadn't noticed the stamp of the Library of Congress. I find this stamp interesting that it was on the majority of the excerpted pages from his notebook. Also, in his writings I was interested on Whitman's views of religion. I thought it was interesting how he saw religion as a centrifugal force and also how he saw religions influence on slavery. Also, in his paintings it was cool to see the meaning behind Whitman's details. For example, he had one painting with clear detail on the characters nose. I found it interesting to learn that this was due to the characters affections towards beer and wine. This could reveal some insight on Whitman's status in society. Having a wine connoisseur as a close friend could indicate Whitman's appreciation towards the fine arts which tends to be a characteristics of a man of luxury.
Wrenn, I had very similar thoughts about the legibility of Whitman's hand writing and figured it may be due to his brief, formal education. I think you provide an interesting perspective about the formatting of the pictures. When noticing that they were turned sideways, I initially thought that it was simply for Whitman to have more room on the page, however after reading your analysis I think you could be right about Whitman wanting to leave room for interpretation. Also, I find the way you analyze the actual way in which the images are drawn (the enlargement of the nose and mouth) interesting, as I tried to analyze the pictures on more of a surface/content level. Do you think Whitman asserted society's beliefs about religion in his poetry, or his own beliefs about religion in his poetry? Great job!
ReplyDeleteSome good points, but I wish you had looked at other examples in order to provide additional details and support to your thoughts and analysis.
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