Enjambment:

Enjambment is a poetic technique that allows a thought to span multiple lines. It has no ending punctuation and allows the poet to going against an expected pattern in the poem. The poet Walt Whitman has used this poetic device in the following lines.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,

And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing.

Here, the poet enjambs the line with the conjunction “and”. So, with this technique he is connecting the contrast ideas in the lines.

Metaphor:

Metaphor is a literary device where two unrelated objects are compared to each other. The poet Walt Whitman has used this poetic device in the following lines.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.

The first phrase “the flag of my disposition” compares the poet’s nature to that of grass. In the second phrase, the usage of “green” colour is a symbol of hope. The grass is a symbol of hope.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,

A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,

Here, the poet compares grass to the handkerchief of God. God is portrayed as a lady who drops her handkerchief for her beloved as a sign of gift. 

Repetition:

Repetition is a literary device where a certain word or phrase is repeated multiple times to emphasise the word or to create a rhythm. The poet Walt Whitman has used this poetic device in the following lines.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord

…..

Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,

It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,

It may be if I had known them I would have loved them,

It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers’ laps,

Anaphora:

Anaphora is a literary device that uses the repetition of short phrases or single words at the beginning of clauses or sentences to enhance rhythm. The poet Walt Whitman has used this poetic device in the following lines.

It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,

It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken,

It may be if I had known them I would have loved them, soon out of their mothers’ laps,

And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it,

And ceas’d the moment life appear’d.

Rhetorical Question:

A rhetorical question is a literary device used to influence the audience. It’s a question asked not for the answer, but for the effect. A rhetorical question is used to emphasise a point. The poet Walt Whitman has used this poetic device in the following lines. The poet begins the poem with a rhetorical question.

“What is the grass?”

Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose? (Line 6)

What do you think has become of the young and old men?

And what do you think has become of the women and children? (Stanza 7)

A child said, What is the grass? Summary