Whitman, "Calamus" & "Live Oak with Moss"

It's a battle of phallic flora: the calamus plant on the left and the live oak tree on the right.

--The relation of these two groupings of poems is a matter of some critical debate: for some critics, especially the textually-oriented scholar Hershel Parker, "Live Oak with Moss" is a more direct and positive expression of homosexuality. While others see "Calamus" as equally an expression of homosexuality, but more political. Which iteration do you find more interesting or compelling or more open in its exploration of homosexuality?

--Compare how any single poem that appears in both sequences is changed by its different relation to the poems around it in the different sequences.

Whitman, "Song of Myself," Day #2

--Whitman was perhaps best-known during his lifetime for his attentiveness to sexuality in the poetry. Select a passage that seems to address a sexual experience and consider what Whitman is trying to say about it and how it relates to his broader attempt to bridge divides.
--Here are some moments that could be examined: section 5, 21, 22, 24, 27-30

Whitman, "Song of Myself," Day #1

--This is the image of Whitman he used in place of his name on the frontispiece of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. It portrays Whitman as a man of the working class, evocative of the democratic persona he sought to convey through the poetry.

--As the two critical essays we are reading for next class suggest, the notion of merging with or embodying the American people was central to Whitman's vision of the work of his poetry. Select an example other than ones selected by the critics and explore the benefits and/or problems of Whitman's entering into, becoming or speaking for another person or people in "Song of Myself."

--As part of Whitman's project of countering divisions in American life (self/other, body/soul, nation/individual, etc.), "Song of Myself" also represents both city and country. How are the two kinds of landscapes represented here? What are similarities or differences? How does the poem work to bring them together?

--More so than most other poetry, Whitman's poems demand that its readers, especially its American readers, embrace it. Without that popular acceptance, Whitman felt that his poetry would be a failure. How do you see Whitman addressing this in the poetry? How optimistic, pessimistic, anxious or hopeful do you think he is about his success by the end of "Song of Myself"?

Whitman, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"

--This is an image of the view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights near the time of Whitman's poem.

--How does Whitman envision urban experience and community through his commuter ferry ride? How is it different or similar to other urban texts we've read?

--Whitman explicitly addresses future commuters and readers, attempting to create a bond of experience that will translate across time. To what extent did you feel yourself connecting with Whitman and his description of his experience and his articulation of the self imagined through the urban commute?

Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, Day #3

--The ending of the book is famous or infamous. To what extent does this "confession" change, alter or revise your understanding of the relations between the characters? Do you believe in it, or do you think it is 'made up' and, if made up, why?

--Zenobia's death: as a representative of women's rights issues, Zenobia has an ambiguous role here and her death is no less ambiguous. Is she a tragic figure, as Coverdale seems to imagine her, or a foolishly self-dramatizing one as Westervelt suggests? What do you make of her 'morals' (there seem to be more than one) for her life? What do you think Hawthorne is saying about women's rights through her?

--Priscilla and the Silvery Veil. Here, the allegorical story becomes real. What does its fulfillment in the confrontation at the Lyceum say about women and their relations to men and the world at large?

--Blithedale Romance is a text that engages with country, city and even suburban landscapes (the lyceum audience is described as suburban): what does it suggest about the relationship of landscape/setting and human behavior or human nature?

Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, Day #2

--This is a Victorian "spirit photograph"--ostensibly evidence of the existence of the spirit realm, but now held up as examples of the way the photographic medium can be manipulated. Anyway, it touches upon mid-nineteenth century attitudes toward the spirit realm.

--In Zenobia's story "The Silvery Veil," she offers up a story of the spirit realm which is more properly an allegory of male-female relations. What does the story have to say about those relations? To what extent are the issues presented in the story still relevant of male-female relations today?

--Zenobia's speech at "Eliot's Pulpit" also deals with women's issues. What are her concerns and how are they dealt with by the male characters? What do you think Hawthorne is saying about women's rights here?

--During this section, many of the characters leave Blithedale for the city. How is the city represented and how do the characters act differently (or not)? What do you think Hawthorne is saying about the city here?

Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, Day #1

--As we've come to the 'synthesis' or city/country section of the course, a number of the issues that interest me about this text reflect on things we've already studied, so...

--Compare Coverdale's attitude toward the transformative possibilities of country living and agrarian labor with that of Thoreau in Walden.

--In much of the city writing we examined, the notion of the city as a place of watching, spying or being a voyeur is explored. How does this novel thematize or explore this in the utopian community? What is Coverdale's explanation, justification or qualification of his own tendency to pry into the private matters of others?

Webb, The Garies and their Friends, Day #3

--This section focuses primarily on the drama of Clarence's passing. How are we to view Clarence and his passing? It is often figured as or likened to a criminal act (Walters compares it to forgery), but Clarence is also seen as a victim: what is the novel's attitude toward passing?

--Clarence's sister, Emily, is clearly meant as an alternative to passing. What do her choices and the novel's vision of her say about mixed race characters and their place in the African-American community?

--The novel ends with a celebration. How does it depict African-American community and its relationship to the larger white community?