Dickinson and Whitman
1. Dickinson and Whitman are two important poets from the antebellum period. They are very different, both in terms of form (what their poetry looks like on the page) and content. Write a comparison, using poems from the assigned reading, that includes at least three terms defined in the Poetry Lecture in Week 1, as well as the poets' purpose in writing. What messages are they trying to convey in their poetry? Are they successful? Of the two poets, which one do you prefer and why?
2. In "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist, gives a speech about what the Fourth of July means to those who were and are still slaves (note that this speech was given in 1852, almost 10 years before the beginning of the Civil War). Discuss the purpose of the piece--what does Douglass hope to accomplish here? Does he succeed? Discuss the overall tone and supply examples of the diction (word choice) that support the tone of the piece.
Walt Whitman
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"
Emily Dickinson
("These are the days when Birds come back")
("I taste a liquor never brewed")
("Some keep the Sabbath going to Church")
Frederick Douglass
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"