2.1 Song of the Open Road-Walt Whitman

Read the following extract carefully and complete the activities given below it. 

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I
choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am
good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more,
need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous
criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer, I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them. (Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)

A1-Point out the adjectives describing that the poet enjoys his journey.

1...................................

2...................................

3....................................

4...................................

A2-By 'old delicious burdens' the poet means-

a. the luggage

b. the food he carries

c. the stress he bears during the travels

d. sweet memories of the past

A3- 'Healthy, free, the world before me'. Express your views regarding this line.

A4-Pick out two lines of the figure of speech Alliteration.

A5-Compose four lines of your own on the topic 'The road that leads to my college'.

Answers-

A1-

1.light-hearted

2. healthy

3. free

4. strong and content

A2-

d. sweet memories of the past 

A3-

The poet has started his journey of life. He may come across a lot of obstacles on his way. But he is enough strong to face the challenges he may have to face in the journey. The line also reveals the fact that the poet has the positive attitude to look at the world. The poet seems to be optimistic and hopeful. 

A4-

Examples of Alliteration

The long brown path before me leading wherever I
choose.

Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more,
need nothing,

A5-

I go everyday to my college,

On the road that leads to knowledge.

Always hopeful with the thought,

That inspires me for the future bright.

Write an appreciation of the poem.

1. About the title-

The title 'Song of the Open Road' is a appropriate as the words in the title like 'open' and 'road' themselves express the theme of the poem. The title reveals the poet's optimism and also describes his journey of freedom and independence. Moreover, the poet shares his experience of travelling on the road with joy, therefore the poem is rightly entitled as a 'song'.

2. About the poet-

Walt Whitman is an American poet who is known as 'The Father of Free Verse'. He grew up in Huntington in a family with difficult economic status. The poem 'Song of the Open Road' is taken from Whitman's major work 'Leaves of Grass'.

3. Theme of the poem-

The poem mainly deals with optimism and freedom. The speaker of this poem is the poet himself and feels free as he wants to go anywhere. The poem also suggests the readers to explore the world with our abilities and opportunities. The poet has aptly pointed out that one should travel the journey of life leaving the past behind happily. 

4. Poetic Devices in the poem-

The poet has used variety of poetic devices in this poem. The poet has made use of different figures of speech to express his thoughts effectively. 'Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road', 'Strong and content I travel the open road' these lines are examples of the figure of speech 'Inversion' because the poet has changed the proper word order. 'The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose', 'Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms' are examples of the figure of speech Alliteration because in these lines the sounds 'l' and 'n' are repeated respectively. 

5. Focusing elements in the poem-

The poet has used free verse style so that he can express his thoughts freely without using the rhyming words. This poem is dramatic monologue. To enhance the effect and importance of his views, the poet has used repetition of certain words and phrases in this poem. 

6. Message, values, moral in the poem-

'Song of the Open Road' is an inspirational poem as it encourages the readers to lead happy and free life. It also teaches us that one should be always optimistic and have positive attitude to look at the life and world. From the poem, we can learn that we should not expect anything from others and we should be self-confident and content.

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Compiled By-Dr. Salunkhe T. B.