What does handkerchief of the Lord mean?

Handkerchief could be symbolic of a loving gift, a `remembrancer', as he says, and a signal that the good god is present in the manifestation of the nature's beautiful things like the grass.

What according to Whitman is the handkerchief of the Lord?

He muses that perhaps "the grass is itself a child" or maybe it is "the handkerchief of the Lord." Here the grass is a symbol of the divinity latent in the ordinary, common life of man and it is also a symbol of the continuity inherent in the life-death cycle. No one really dies.

What does the grass is itself a child mean?

The child is asking what is life and death, which is the theme. The narrator does not know how to respond, even though he is old, which shows that the mysteries of life and death are always mysteries, no matter how old you are. The grass could be interpreted as the beginning of another life after death as well.

What does Section 16 of Song of Myself mean?

By Walt Whitman

This section makes clear that Whitman (the poet) is painfully aware of all the fault lines of the great cultural battle that threatens to engulf the United States. The danger of civil war is real, and Whitman's poetic persona attempts to stand astride the rift and hold the nation together for dear life.

What does grass symbolize in Song of Myself Section 6?

The grass is itself a child, always emerging anew from the realm of death into a new life; it is a kind of coded writing that seems to speak equality since it grows among the rich and poor, among black and white.

Handkerchief lessons from Sri Sathya Sai Baba

What does the grass in Song of Myself symbolize?

You could think of the speaker narrating the entire poem while sitting in the grass with his soul. Grass is an image of hope, growth, and death. According to the speaker, the bodies of countless dead people lie under the grass we walk on, but they also live on and speak through this grass.

What metaphor is used to connect grass to life and death?

Grass is used as a metaphor for human beings to connect it to the cycle of life and death. The speaker of the poem believes in the interconnectedness of human and natural life and as such doesn't consider death to be the end of life.

What is Song of Myself 52 about?

Whitman talks about his journey that he has traveled and now that he is at the end of his life, he is accepting of himself as he hopes to become a part of nature. This section contributes to the rest of the poem as a reflection on his lifetime and the journey he created for himself.

What paradox is at the heart of Song of Myself?

The self of "Song of Myself" is paradoxical in other ways as well: it is both mutable and immutable; it is both part of and separate from worldly existence; it is both individ- ual and universal; it is both body and soul; it participates, yet also witnesses.

Who is the I in the passage from Song of Myself?

This poem celebrates the poet's self, but, while the "I" is the poet himself, it is, at the same time, universalized. The poet will "sing myself," but "what I assume you shall assume,/For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." The poet loafs on the grass and invites his soul to appear.

What does hopeful green stuff woven mean?

According to him, the grass bears the sign of his disposition, woven with “hopeful green stuff”. It is the handkerchief of the Lord that he knowingly dropped in the nooks and corners of his creation to remind all the creatures of his existence.

What is the meaning of I understand the large hearts of heroes?

This poem is about Walt feeling empathy for the heroes that we dont always consider heroes ourself. He looked deeper then we do, not just considering the people who fought in war as heroes, but people who did heroic things.

What is the metaphor of Leaves of Grass?

Each leaf or blade of grass possesses its own distinct beauty, and together the blades form a beautiful unified whole, an idea Whitman explores in the sixth section of “Song of Myself.” Multiple leaves of grass thus symbolize democracy, another instance of a beautiful whole composed of individual parts.

What is Song of Myself 33 about?

The poem is about his journey on exploring the world and how he has been through everything that has happened during it.

What is the grass?

What Is the Grass is a deep dive into Walt Whitman's life, work, worldview, and something that feels like his cosmic theology. As if that weren't enough, we're also invited into Mark Doty's own candid self-seeking, in episodes of the author's life rendered in generous complexity.

What is the major symbol in Whitman's Song of Myself?

The major symbols, used here are 'I', 'the grass', 'the journey', 'body', 'soul', 'plants', 'animals', 'heavenly bodies', etc. The 'I' or self is perhaps the single most important symbol in 'Song of Myself'.

What is the meaning of I Sing the Body Electric?

I Sing the Body Electric is the title of a 2011 song by the trip hop band Arms and Sleepers. What does it mean? She is evoking Whitman's praise of the body and its sensuality, the oneness of all people.

Has anyone supposed it lucky to be born?

Whitman looks at us, and, since he had a body too, he sees ours and knows what it is like. The poem at this point reaches out to us, grabs us, claims us, and “cannot be shaken away.” Has any one supposed it lucky to be born? I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it.

What does the poet mean by Hoping to cease not till death?

Solution : The line 'Hoping to cease not till death' means the poet Walt Whitman does not want to die. He knows that there are people who quarrelled for religions. He hopes to change the situation through his efforts.

What might the Hawk symbolize in Song of Myself?

Whitman suggests that the speaker - like the hawk - cannot be entirely understood. His "barbaric yawp" is the equivalent of the hawk's call, the wild cry of a free human being in a free world. What metaphor does Whitman use to describe his poem? Where might you find the speaker in the future?

What is the best interpretation of this excerpt from Song of Myself?

What is the best interpretation of this excerpt from “Song of Myself”? These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me, / If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing…. Whitman admits that he has borrowed poetic ideas from writers of the past.

What does Song of Myself 51 mean?

This section of the Walt Whitman's Song of Myself expresses the idea that we must learn to cultivate the self-awareness and openness to contradict the self that existed in the past and present and accept or welcome the unheard future.

What does the smallest sprout of grass show?

The smallest sprout shows there is really no death, And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it, And ceas'd the moment life appear'd.

Why does Whitman want the grass to symbolize himself *?

Whitman continues the metaphor of seeing grass as the rebirth of the dead into the cyclical nature of life. He makes this a hopeful message by saying that death is actually “luckier” than life. The way that Whitman speaks about matter never disappearing just being reused and reformed feels almost scientific.

What is the tone of a child said What is the grass?

The tone of Walt Whitman's "A Child Said, What is the Grass" is contemplative and mystical. The poem attempts to answer a simple question,... See full answer below.