Crossing brooklyn ferry text. Virgil Thomson 2022-11-09
Crossing brooklyn ferry text
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"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" is a poem written by Walt Whitman, first published in his collection Leaves of Grass in 1856. The poem reflects on the experience of crossing the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and the sense of connection and unity that the speaker feels with the other people on the ferry and the city itself.
The poem begins with the speaker describing the ferry's journey across the river and the sights and sounds that can be seen and heard from the boat. The speaker reflects on the changing landscape and the way that the city seems to come alive as the ferry approaches it. This depiction of the city as a living, breathing entity reflects Whitman's belief in the power of the individual and the collective to shape and change the world around them.
As the ferry crosses the river, the speaker reflects on the people who are also on the ferry with him. He speaks of the diversity of these people, who come from different walks of life and represent a wide range of ages, occupations, and backgrounds. Despite these differences, the speaker sees a sense of unity and connection among these people, as they all share in the experience of crossing the river and the journey it represents.
Throughout the poem, the speaker reflects on the idea of time and how it connects us to the past, present, and future. He speaks of the way that the ferry's journey across the river seems to connect him to the people and events of the past, and how he feels a sense of continuity with those who have come before him. At the same time, the speaker also reflects on the way that the city and its people are constantly changing and evolving, and how this sense of change and progress is a fundamental part of the human experience.
Overall, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" is a powerful and moving reflection on the connections that we share with each other and the world around us. Through its depiction of the city, the people on the ferry, and the journey across the river, the poem explores themes of unity, continuity, and change, and encourages us to reflect on our own place in the world and the connections we have with those around us.
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman
This makes him significant as an individual but also part of a larger whole. What the study could not teach--what the preaching could not accomplish, is accomplished, is it not? Man, in Whitman's world, while overcoming the duality of the universe, desires fusion with the spirit. Thus section 5 is the central core of the poem. We understand then do we not? What the push of reading could not start, is started by me personally, is it not? Sound out, voices of young men! My aim is to satisfy clients and support them from beginning to end. Burn high your fires, foundry chimneys! Cross from shore to shore, countless crowds of passengers! The one another within the same way. Now, he reassures his readers that he has continued living his life fully despite these moments of weakness.
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4.23.2: ÃĸâŦÅCrossing Brooklyn FerryÃĸâŦÂ
What is more subtle than this which ties me to the woman or man that looks in my face? Play the old role, the role that is great or small according as one makes it! His best actions have appeared "blank" and "suspicious. Gorgeous clouds of the sun-set! Stand up, tall masts of Mannahatta! On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose, And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose. I too lived--Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine; I too walked the streets of Manhattan Island, and bathed in the waters around it; I too felt the curious abrupt questionings stir within me; In the day, among crowds of people, sometimes they came upon me, In my walks home late at night, or as I lay in my bed, they came upon me. Frolic on, crested and scallop-edged waves! Whatever it is, it avails not - distance avails not, and place avails not, I too lived, Brooklyn of ample hills was mine, I too walk'd the streets of Manhattan island, and bathed in the waters around it, I too felt the curious abrupt questionings stir within me, In the day among crowds of people sometimes they came upon me, In my walks home late at night or as I lay in my bed they came upon me, I too had been struck from the float forever held in solution, I too had receiv'd identity by my body, That I was I knew was of my body, and what I should be I knew I should be of my body. āĻā§āĻŦāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻĸāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻŋāĻŽāĻ¨āĻŋ! The poet invokes the images of his experiences to suggest the flowing of time.
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Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Poem Summary and Analysis
Wishing to suggest the quality of spiritual unification, Whitman has used the metaphor of a chemical solution: "The float forever held in solution" is the infinite ocean of spiritual life which contains the "potential" of all life. On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose, And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose. We understand, then, do we not? I was called by my nighest name by clear loud voices of young men as they saw me approaching or passing, Felt their arms on my neck as I stood, or the negligent leaning of their flesh against me as I sat; Saw many I loved in the street, or ferry-boat, or public assembly, yet never told them a word; Lived the same life with the rest, the same old laughing, gnawing, sleeping; Played the part that still looks back on the actor or actress, The same old role, the role that is what we make it,--as great as we like, Or as small as we like, or both great and small. He lists the aspects of his surroundings, lists, the evil thoughts he has had and therefore the sinful acts he has committed, and, at the very end of the poem, he lists the characteristics of his environment. The cheating look, the frivolous word, the adulterous wish, not wanting, Refusals, hates, postponements, meanness, laziness, none of these wanting, Was one with the rest, the days and haps of the rest, Was call'd by my nighest name by clear loud voices of young men as they saw me approaching or passing, Felt their arms on my neck as I stood, or the negligent leaning of their flesh against me as I sat, Saw many I loved in the street or ferry-boat or public assembly, yet never told them a word, Lived the same life with the rest, the same old laughing, gnawing, sleeping, Play'd the part that still looks back on the actor or actress, The same old role, the role that is what we make it, as great as we like, Or as small as we like, or both great and small.
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Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
āĻāĻ°ā§āĻ§ā§āĻŦā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻ˛ā§ āĻ¸āĻāĻ˛ āĻāĻžāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ° āĻĒāĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻž! Burn high your fires, foundry chimneys! Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me! He admits that sometimes, evil thoughts cross his mind. In this poem, the and therefore the commuters around him. It is not you alone who know what it is to be evil; I am he who knew what it was to be evil; I too knitted the old knot of contrariety, Blabbed, blushed, resented, lied, stole, grudged; Had guile, anger, lust, hot wishes I dared not speak; Was wayward, vain, greedy, shallow, sly, cowardly, malignant; The wolf, the snake, the hog, not wanting in me; The cheating look, the frivolous word, the adulterous wish, not wanting; Refusals, hates, postponements, meanness, laziness, none of these wanting. Clouds of the west â sun there half an hour high â I see you also face to face Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me! It is not you alone, nor I alone; Not a few races, nor a few generations, nor a few centuries; It is that each came, or comes, or shall come, from its due emission, From the general centre of all, and forming a part of all: Everything indicatesâthe smallest does, and the largest does; A necessary film envelopes all, and envelopes the Soul for a proper time. Sound out, voices of young men! Flaunt away, flags of all nations! What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us? What is more subtle than this which ties me to the woman or man that looks in my face? The reference to fusion "which fuses me into you now" is the basic ideal the poet sought in the beginning. This sense of repetition and revisiting reinforces the thematic content of the poem, which looks at the possibility of continuity within humanity based on common experiences.
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Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
In section 8, Whitman describes the beauty of the Manhattan harbor, the sunset on the river, the seagulls, and the twilight. Burn high your fires, foundry chimneys! Who was to know what should come home to me? What is more subtle than this which ties me to the woman or man that looks in my face? I watch you face to face; Clouds of the west! He commands the river to stay flowing, the waves to stay frolicking, and therefore the clouds to drench him with their splendor. Sound out, voices of young men! Which fuses me into you now, and pours my meaning into you? Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me! I loved well those cities; I loved well the stately and rapid river; The men and women I saw were all near to me; Others the same--others who look back on me because I looked forward to them; The time will come, though I stop here to-day and to-night. His world is dominated by a sense of good, and evil has a very subservient place in it. Suspend here and everywhere, eternal float of solution! Besides the ever-moving tide, Whitman uses light and even as the night casts a blanket over the river during his evening commute.
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Walt Whitman
I watch you face to face ; Clouds of the west! Expand, being than which none else is perhaps more spiritual! The coming together of these men and women symbolizes the spiritual unity of men in this world. Thrive, cities â bring your freight, bring your shows, ample and sufficient rivers You dumb, beautiful ministers, we receive you, we use you We fathom you not â we love you â there is perfection in you also. Stand up, tall masts of Mannahatta! The speaker offers some details about the remainder of his routine â living in Brooklyn and dealing in Manhattan. Flaunt away, flags of all nations! It is not upon you alone the dark patches fall, The dark threw patches down upon me also; The best I had done seemed to me blank and suspicious; My great thoughts, as I supposed them, were they not in reality meagre? I have been working in this sector for more than 3 years and completed more than 500 projects for my clients. āĻā§ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻŽāĻŋāĻļāĻŋā§ā§ āĻĢā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻĻā§āĻĻā§āĻļā§āĻ¯āĻā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻŦāĻžāĻšāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§? Who was to know what should come home to me? Recalling the scene of the river and the people with whom he was associated, he evokes the spiritual bond that links man with his fellow men. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman Poetry Foundation agenda angle-down angle-left angleRight arrow-down arrowRight bars calendar caret-down cart children highlight learningResources list mapMarker openBook p1 pin poetry-magazine print quoteLeft quoteRight slideshow tagAudio tagVideo teens trash-o. You have waited, you always wait, you dumb, beautiful ministers! The poet is trying to establish a link between himself and his future readers.
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Virgil Thomson
It is these minor changes that enable him to be specific, and that allow perspective on human existence. Who knows, for all the distance, but I am as good as looking at you now, for all you cannot see me? The union with the reader is mystical and beyond the bounds of rational thought or philosophy. I see you face to face! āĻĻāĻŖā§āĻĄāĻžā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ āĻŦā§āĻ°ā§āĻāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ°āĻŽ āĻĒāĻžāĻšāĻžā§ āĻļā§āĻ°ā§āĻŖāĻŋ! We receive you with free sense at last, and are insatiate henceforward; Not you any more shall be able to foil us, or withhold yourselves from us; We use you, and do not cast you asideâwe plant you permanently within us; We fathom you notâwe love you â there is perfection in you also; You furnish your parts toward eternity; Great or small, you furnish your parts toward the soul. Others will enter the gates of the ferry and cross from shore to shore, Others will watch the run of the flood-tide, Others will see the shipping of Manhattan north and west, and the heights of Brooklyn to the south and east, Others will see the islands large and small; Fifty years hence, others will see them as they cross, the sun half an hour high, A hundred years hence, or ever so many hundred years hence, others will see them, Will enjoy the sunset, the pouring-in of the flood-tide, the falling-back to the sea of the ebb-tide. Appearances, now or henceforth, indicate what you are, You necessary film, continue to envelop the soul, About my body for me, and your body for you, be hung our divinest aromas, Thrive, citiesâbring your freight, bring your shows, ample and sufficient rivers, Expand, being than which none else is perhaps more spiritual, Keep your places, objects than which none else is more lasting. The poet is on the bank, and he observes the ferry as well as the passengers, whom he expands to symbolize the large united self of mankind.
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Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Poems Summary & Analysis
I too many and many a time cross'd the river of old, Watched the Twelfth-month sea-gulls, saw them high in the air floating with motionless wings, oscillating their bodies, Saw how the glistening yellow lit up parts of their bodies and left the rest in strong shadow, Saw the slow-wheeling circles and the gradual edging toward the south, Saw the reflection of the summer sky in the water, Had my eyes dazzled by the shimmering track of beams, Look'd at the fine centrifugal spokes of light round the shape of my head in the sunlit water, Look'd on the haze on the hills southward and south-westward, Look'd on the vapor as it flew in fleeces tinged with violet, Look'd toward the lower bay to notice the vessels arriving, Saw their approach, saw aboard those that were near me, Saw the white sails of schooners and sloops, saw the ships at anchor, The sailors at work in the rigging or out astride the spars, The round masts, the swinging motion of the hulls, the slender serpentine pennants, The large and small steamers in motion, the pilots in their pilothouses, The white wake left by the passage, the quick tremulous whirl of the wheels, The flags of all nations, the falling of them at sunset, The scallop-edged waves in the twilight, the ladled cups, the frolic-some crests and glistening, The stretch afar growing dimmer and dimmer, the gray walls of the granite storehouses by the docks, On the river the shadowy group, the big steam-tug closely flank'd on each side by the barges, the hay-boat, the belated lighter, On the neighboring shore the fires from the foundry chimneys burning high and glaringly into the night, Casting their flicker of black contrasted with wild red and yellow light over the tops of houses, and down into the clefts of streets. So, the poet implies, do not feel alone because you have been this way â one must accept both the pure and the impure elements of life. Sound out, voices of young men! Who was to know what should come home to me? He, too, "felt the curious abrupt questionings" stir within him. While Wordsworth is more concerned with the idea of the power of place, Coleridge, like Whitman, is more interested in the relevance of shared experience, and its ability to potentially transcend barriers of space and mortality. In accordance together with his signature style, is split into nine sections and has 147 lines.
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