"Crossing"

Charles So

English 48B

March 7, 2011

Journal for Whitman

Author Quote:
"Burn high your fires, foundry chimneys! cast black shadows at nightfall!

     cast red and yellow light over the tops of the houses!

Appearances, now or henceforth, indicate what you are,

You necessary film, continue to envelop the soul." (25)

Internet Quote:

"A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism , incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse." (Wikipedia seach Walt Whitman)

 Summary:

From the beginning to the end, Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" constantly invokes the past with the present, Whitman's idea that others have seen and fifty years from now will still be seeing, the islands of New York City, expresses the realization that others have also shared his range of emotional and spiritual experience throughout time. From there he explores and expresses his devotion for the individual, he demands growth and rejects limitation due to so called "appearances."

Personal Opinion:

As i started to read "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," i was very hesitate, because at first the poem felt less like poetry and more like an existential pondering. However as i read deeper into the poem and felt the coexistence of past and present in the harbor, i automatically related it to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who all came through the same way and probably felt a great deal of the same way. Throughout the poem I couldn't really tell exactly the feelings or state of mind this poem was suppose to put you in. Although the poem is great at invoking a certain state of mind and mood, i personally thought the poem was very hard to keep up with, it kind of went here and there.