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Analysis and comments on I Sit and Look Out. by Walt Whitman

1 [2] 3

Comment 15 of 25, added on April 22nd, 2006 at 11:22 AM.

I read all the comments, and it seems like everyone assumes that Walt
Whitman is the person speaking in this poem. Wouldn't it be much more
ironic to interpretate this poem and say the God is the one who is sitting,
looks out upon, sees, hears, and is silent? is that sort of interpretation
justified?

moonriver from Israel
Comment 14 of 25, added on April 1st, 2006 at 7:42 AM.

I think the last sentence gives the most meaning to me.

"All these—All the meanness and agony without end, I sitting, look out
upon,
See, hear, and am silent."

I think this poem is about all the bad things in the world and that people
just observe them, they see that its injustice but they do nothing about
it. They keep still. Whitman is making a point that, no one stands up to
the injustices of the world, to make things right, as he makes no kind of
hint that people put some kind of action to prevent these things. Whitman
is urging us, not just to see and hear the meanness and the agony of people
suffering in the world, but to put right what is unjust. It might not be
what you interpreted from the poem but it is what I got.


Simone from Australia
Comment 13 of 25, added on March 19th, 2006 at 3:30 PM.

i like it

shanna from United States
Comment 12 of 25, added on February 8th, 2006 at 7:14 PM.

This poem, by Walt Whitman, was written in the transcendentalist age. I
wanted to empahsize this point because he support the ideas of
individualism. Therefore, the poem is suppose to give us all our individual
opinion of it. I know no history behind this poem or ever thought it
symbolizes the history of its time, but the poem seems to empahsize on the
corruption and reality of the world. We all know of all the bad things in
society, but what can we do to improve it. This is message whitman tried to
get across in his "I Sit and Look Out"

*Btw, i first got interested in poems because of the movie, The Dead Poet
Society. It's a really good movie and entails a lot of famous poems in
America.

Thong Tran from United States
Comment 11 of 25, added on February 5th, 2006 at 6:28 PM.

I think this poem is boring. The Price is Right

Bob Barker from United States
Comment 10 of 25, added on January 31st, 2006 at 12:42 AM.

this poem was written because Whitman was so patriotic that he was
generally pissed off that president Garfield was assasinated in 1881. In
his other poems he talks about how wonderful america and its presidents
are!!!! *strange misconceeded man he was*

school student from Australia
Comment 9 of 25, added on January 15th, 2006 at 8:07 AM.

This poem, though had been written more than a centurey ago, reflects the
reality lies inside each free and honorable American who understand the
reality of Bush personal adventures and wars!
The best words that convey the silenced sound of the americans are in:
"All these—All the meanness and agony without end, I sitting, look out
upon,
See, hear, and am silent."
And so is every civilised American: looking out..see hear..watching all the
meanness committed under the name of America & Democracy!
This poem also honestly reflect the spirit of the real struggling American
who have always been giving hand to any nation in the world that seeks
freedom and dignity until the cursed Bush family has come to scene.
/>

Amer S. Al-Huwarat from Jordan
Comment 8 of 25, added on November 29th, 2005 at 7:49 PM.

in my opinion, i thought this poem was about the powers of the world, but
more then that, i thought about war, and the hardship that comes with it,
that war is not only guns and knives but words as well. Thats how i saw
this poem as.

Jay from United Kingdom
Comment 7 of 25, added on November 23rd, 2005 at 9:23 AM.

whitman was a homosexual, he maybe talking about himself in the first half
of the poem...i mean who knkows....but this poems speaks directly: the
world will never change which i agree. people are too obsessed with power
and money and misjudge others. the discrimination, prejudice will neva
really go away. the problems of this world is not the fault of any
country's leader or even Bush himself. its just us: we see the wrongdoings
of this world but jut cant summon enough courage to the make a difference(
which is a fact that whitman was trying to convey)......life is bitter nd
all we can do is just sit and look out.

Rani from Thailand
Comment 6 of 25, added on November 21st, 2005 at 2:42 PM.

this poem does truly state that althought technology in the world has
changed over the course of the years..people and just humanity in general
have not. i find it so fasinating that many of the problems in the world
today already existed in the 1900s. and i dont believe that the world being
this way is george bushs fault..but i personally dont like him the least
bit..i mean come on..give the little people some credit

johns baby girl from United States

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1 [2] 3


Information about I Sit and Look Out.

Poet: Walt Whitman
Poem: 1. I Sit and Look Out.
Volume: Leaves of Grass
- 4. Leaves of Grass
Year: 1900
Added: Feb 7 2004
Viewed: 13146 times
Poem of the Day: Jul 5 2006


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