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  1. Walt Whitman’s ‘Animals’ uses a number of literary devices. The first line starts with a paradox. Following that, the poet employs personification to portray animals with human attributes. The usage of a repetition at the start of consecutive lines is done for emphasis. The word “sick” has been usedRead more

    Walt Whitman’s ‘Animals’ uses a number of literary devices. The first line starts with a paradox. Following that, the poet employs personification to portray animals with human attributes. The usage of a repetition at the start of consecutive lines is done for emphasis. The word “sick” has been used as a metaphor.

    Animals Summary

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  1. Walt Whitman, the poet, compares the feeling of being with animals and humans and admits that he feels more at ease and at home with animals than with his fellow humans. Humans have gone insane in their pursuit of material goods. They’re a jumble of complexities. They have nightmares and mourn for tRead more

    Walt Whitman, the poet, compares the feeling of being with animals and humans and admits that he feels more at ease and at home with animals than with his fellow humans. Humans have gone insane in their pursuit of material goods. They’re a jumble of complexities. They have nightmares and mourn for their sins because their conscience is impure. Animals, on the other hand, are satisfied, tranquil, and self-contained. They aren’t motivated by anything other than their meals. They don’t need to worship God since they never feel guilty or sinful. In the distant past, our ancestors exchanged those signs of love and understanding. Unfortunately, mankind has permanently lost those values and signs of love and compassion.

    Animals poem summary

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  1. Walt Whitman, the poet, compares the feeling of being with animals and humans and admits that he feels more at ease and at home with animals than with his fellow humans. Humans have gone insane in their pursuit of material goods. They're a jumble of complexities. They have nightmares and mourn for tRead more

    Walt Whitman, the poet, compares the feeling of being with animals and humans and admits that he feels more at ease and at home with animals than with his fellow humans. Humans have gone insane in their pursuit of material goods. They’re a jumble of complexities.

    They have nightmares and mourn for their sins because their conscience is impure. Animals, on the other hand, are satisfied, tranquil, and self-contained. They aren’t motivated by anything other than their meals.

    They don’t need to worship God since they never feel guilty or sinful. In the distant past, our ancestors exchanged those signs of love and understanding. Unfortunately, mankind has permanently lost those values and signs of love and compassion.

    Read summary of the poem.

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  1. ‘Animals’ by Walt Whitman is a poem in free verse, without having specific line lengths or rhyme schemes in general. The poem appears to be written in a single stanza. However, for a better understanding, three stanzas make up the extracted segment of the poem. Only two lines have been taken from thRead more

    ‘Animals’ by Walt Whitman is a poem in free verse, without having specific line lengths or rhyme schemes in general. The poem appears to be written in a single stanza. However, for a better understanding, three stanzas make up the extracted segment of the poem. Only two lines have been taken from the third stanza since it is lengthy enough. However, there is an instance of slant rhyme.

    1. For example, in the second stanza, the word “sins” rhymes with “things.”
    2. Furthermore, in this poetry, the shortening of lines denotes a shift in concepts.

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  1. Walt Whitman's 'Animals' uses a number of literary devices. The first line starts with a paradox. Following that, the poet employs personification to portray animals with human attributes. The usage of a repetition at the start of consecutive lines is done for emphasis. The word "sick" has been usedRead more

    Walt Whitman’s ‘Animals’ uses a number of literary devices. The first line starts with a paradox. Following that, the poet employs personification to portray animals with human attributes. The usage of a repetition at the start of consecutive lines is done for emphasis. The word “sick” has been used as a metaphor.

    Read summary of the poem.

    See less
  1. Introduction Walt Whitman's poem 'Animals' is a singularization of plurality. The poet discovers a sense of oneness with the animal kingdom. The poet's foundation is his affection for and intimacy to their animal soul. Humans do not grumble, nag, or spew meaningless remarks in the poet's world. TherRead more

    Introduction

    Walt Whitman’s poem ‘Animals’ is a singularization of plurality. The poet discovers a sense of oneness with the animal kingdom. The poet’s foundation is his affection for and intimacy to their animal soul. Humans do not grumble, nag, or spew meaningless remarks in the poet’s world. There are no norms, no conventions, and even no regrets in his universe. What keeps the poet alive is the beauty of the current moment. In this poetry, the poet cheerfully abandons humanity in favour of animals.

    Stanza 1

    Walt Whitman’s ‘Animals’ starts right away, without beating around the bush. Whitman wishes to transform into an animal and be one of them. The reason is apparent. They are placid or easy-going and are not easily agitated by everyday events. They are content with what they have. In these attributes, the poet is no different from the animals. That’s why he watches them for hours and feels amazed by seeing himself reflected in them.

    Stanza 2

    This portion of Walt Whitman’s ‘Animals’ relates to the three primary qualities that distinguish animals from humans. To begin with, they do not “sweat and whine”(complain) about their condition. The poet employs metonymy in “sweat” to explain strain as a source of sweating. Second, according to the poet, they do not lay awake at night weeping for their sins.

    They are indifferent about God’s vengeance or sufferings in hell. Finally, they do not make the poet sick by reminding him of his obligations to God. Here, the poet expresses his rebellious (non-conformist) nature, which is in tune with the creatures of the wild.

    Furthermore, the poet metaphorically parallels possessive behavior to a kind of obsession in “mania of owning things.” poet continues to speak about the traits of animals in this part of ‘Animals.’ He states that no animal is dissatisfied with what they have. They aren’t even demented from materialistic needs. They also never kneel before another entity or the beings that came before them.

    They are unconcerned with gaining social regard and are not deceitful like humans. They show their true colors in front of other animals. Each one is treated with equal respect. Their hearts are always filled with joy. The poet condemns worldliness in this passage. He emphasizes the significance of self-awarenessindividual liberty, and present happiness.

    As Walt Whitman explains all the reasons in the preceding section, he adds, “So they show their relations to me and I accept them”. The poet’s heart holds no regrets about breaking ties with the human world. As they bring him the “tokens” of himself, he accepts them. In other words, it reflects the poet’s nature in a symbol or representation. These symbols are clearly displayed to the poet.

    Stanza 3

    In the last two lines of ‘Animals’, Whitman wonders where they acquired those tokens. He implies that he may have dropped them negligently (carelessly) in the past. It suggests that he was once a part of their world. Time has changed him and torn the string that binds them together. He realized after many years in the human world, that this world did not resemble his nature. That is why he proudly announces his fidelity to the animal world.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, the entire poem is about the growth of human greed and desire. The poet believes that in the beginning of time, humans were innocent, honest and decent. All of those virtues, however, have now been lost. Animals, on the other hand, appear to have retained those virtues.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    In the poem Animals, the poet provides a comparison between humans and animals in terms of desire. According to the poet, all the animals are self-sufficient, calm and peaceful. They are happy with their lives and never weep because of their sins as they never commit any. They never quest for materiRead more

    In the poem Animals, the poet provides a comparison between humans and animals in terms of desire. According to the poet, all the animals are self-sufficient, calm and peaceful. They are happy with their lives and never weep because of their sins as they never commit any. They never quest for materialistic things.

    On the other hand, humans are quite opposite to the animals. We desire for materialistic things and judge each other in terms of possessions. Humans are greedy and often commit sins because of the desire and greed.

    Read summary of the poem.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Animals never care about anything. They do not commit any sins and hence do not weep like humans in the night. They are self-sufficient, innocent and do not believe in duties to God. They are happy with what they have. Read summary of the poem.

    Animals never care about anything. They do not commit any sins and hence do not weep like humans in the night. They are self-sufficient, innocent and do not believe in duties to God. They are happy with what they have.

    Read summary of the poem.

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