Thursday, June 5, 2008

A Clear Midnight, Walt Whitman

A Clear Midnight
Walt Whitman

This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou
lovest best.
Night, sleep, and the stars.

======================

I love this poem so much! Here is my analysis:

Line by Line:

“This is thy hour O Soul” – This moment is significant for me on a deep level
“thy free flight into the wordless” – Words cannot justly explain how my soul feels
“Away from books” – I fly away from what has been written, opinions, facts, theories
“away from art” – I fly away from what is left for interpretation
“the day day erased” – I fly away from history and the past
“the lesson done” – I fly away from what I have learned though this lifetime
“Thee fully forth emerging” – In this moment it is my true self that comes forward
“silent, gazing” – I am observant, watching, taking in the moment
“pondering the themes thou lovest best” – Thinking about what most makes me happy in life
“Night, sleep, and the stars” – The most peaceful, magical, transient times with the most precious lights; these times are of a recurring, reviving and miraculous display

Title:

On a beautiful evening, at the deepest hour, my soul is clear and I take joy in the bliss

Overall:

A person is taking in a special moment. The moment is very open and clear and calming. Everything else fades away and just this person and his soul are there, having a silent conversation together. The stars represent this moment’s amazing sense of peace, preciousness, and how little miracles happen all the time.

What Someone Else Thought:

http://www.daikynguyen.com/eet/print_archive/united_states/new_york/2006/05-May/29/B7.pdf

-Amanda

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi i have a question i believe that in the last line of this wonderful poem is "night,sleep, DEATH and the stars." i am confused by this last line and how it relates to the 2nd

Anonymous said...

it is not death you can even google it up and i bet 999billion dollars it doesn't say that!

ambennett86 said...

i checked out 6 different sources of the poem. 3 had "night, sleep, death and the stars" and the other 3 had "night, sleep, and the stars." personally, i like the version that is inclusive of the word "death."

Anonymous said...

it is night,sleep,death and the stars. thats how it's printed in the seventh edition of Leaves of Grass

Anonymous said...

And I get 999billion dollars. Search it up on poem hunter