, Research Paper
I SIT AND LOOK
Throughout various works of literature, one can find numerous parallels. It is possible to see two works with mood and tone alike. Just as it is common to see two works that differ completely from one another in that sense. However, there is one parallel that can almost be guaranteed in all works of literature. No matter what one is reading, whether it be works of great poets or short stories by unknown authors, one thing always rings true and that is universal experience. Whitman does an extraordinary job, in all of his works, of giving his readers the chance to enlarge and enrich their existence . His poem, I Sit and Look, is a prime example.
In the poem, I Sit and Look, Whitman describes how he feels when he removes himself from the environment and takes a look at the world. He seems to be revealing that the world is a cruel and hurtful place. He talks about the suffering of humans unable to help themselves and likewise of humans that intentionally inflict suffering upon others. Whitman poses himself as an innocent bystander watching, but doing nothing. One could believe that this is his attempt to show disgust not just for the cruelties in this world, but for the laziness of those who could make a difference but choose not too.
Being a reader, taking in this poem, one may read lines which do not affect their lives. Experiences which they have luckily never had to encounter. However, in reading this, they may find that they are enriched by his words and able to understand things that they may not have before. It is a poem like this that can change a person s outlook on things. It is probably more true than not, that anyone who reads this has come across one of these instances throughout their lives and can relate to how Whitman feels. This will make what they have not encountered that much more real.
See, hear, and am silent . These are probably the most powerful words in the poem. This last line ties together Whitman s thoughts of how the cruelties of the world are just as bad as the fact that so many people see the evil and continue to let it go on. In writing these lines Whitman could quite possibly be trying to show that he too is human and does nothing, but that doesn t make it right. So many readers could relate to this.
I Sit and Look, would be considered a poem that gives its readers an enriching universal experience, because of the fact that that is just what it deals with. These experiences that Whitman speaks of may not occur in a reader s own life, however, they can relate and take from this work. Whitman s poem I Sit and Look is a prime example of a work that has the ability to enlarge and enrich one s existence.