The Walt Whitman poem I choose "On the Beach at Night" because I knew that it would someone connect people to nature. In the poem, a father and a daughter are having one of their moments while standing by the ocean (Whitman,Walt). He is holding her hand and all of her fears seem to be swept away. Her father is her comfort and her shelter from the world and the ocean they are standing next to. He is her protector and helps her through trials. The story is very powerful. It explains a relationship between a dad and a daughter and how powerful the love is (Whitman,Walt). This poem is all about symbols. The ocean is representing the unknown in this story. Overall though, there is a somewhat depressing theme. This is about a girl who is looking at the night sky and how the clouds are dark and they are engulfing the sky where you cannot see Jupiter, but she is standing with her father and she tells herself that she can wait another night and the stars will be out again and she will be able to see Jupiter (Whitman, Walt). The main theme is not to give up hope.
The story is connected to nature. Nature is part of Emerson and Thoreau's philosophies because they believed nature was pure and helpful, unlike other people in the world. They believed that humans were one with nature and that everything starts and ends with nature. So, in this poem, the father and the daughter are connected to nature when they are standing by the ocean. The last sentences of the poem suggests that as long as the moon, the stars, and the ocean endure, the father's love for his daughter will also endure (Lisa). Another reason why this poem goes with Emerson and Thoreau is because they never gave up hope just like the girl in the story, so they were both very inspiring with their words and actions.
Whitman, Walt, and Lisa. "Featured Poem: On The Beach At Night by Walt Whitman." The Reader Online. 14 June 2010. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. <http://thereaderonline.co.uk/2010/06/14/featured-poem-on-the-beach-at-night-by-walt-whitman/>.
Whitman, Walt. "On the Beach at Night, by Walt Whitman." Poetry Archive. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. <http://www.poetry-archive.com/w/on_the_beach_at_night.html>
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