What Are The Metaphors Used In Walt Whitman's Poetry

Walt Whitman wrote a collection of poems in one of his books. Poems, such as, “Song of Myself.” These poems are interesting and well written. His sixth poem in his “Leaves of Grass,” talks about death. He uses different ways to describe how grass relates to death and uses metaphors to relate grass to different objects. There are many examples of him showing how grass relates to death. First, a child asks Walt Whitman “What is grass,” but he does not know any more than the child does about grass. In response to the child’s question, he starts to question his self about grass. He uses metaphors to compare the grass to different objects. Walt Whitman says, “Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord.” Also, Walt Whitman compares the grass to a child. He says, “Or I guess the grass is …show more content…
Walt Whitman compares it to his disposition. He says, “I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.” Finally, Walt Whitman compares the grass to a hieroglyphic. He says, “Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic.” All of these metaphors compare grass to different objects in very interesting ways. Secondly, Walt Whitman talks about how death relates to grass throughout this poem. Walt Whitman first mentions death when he says, “And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.” The next comparison to death comes when he says, “It may transpire from the breasts of young men.” This comparison means, when people bury men, they place them with their chest laying toward the sky, so the grass grows on their chest. Also, Walt Whitman says, “It maybe you are from old people.” In this statement Walt Whitman compares old people much like he compared the young men to grass. Next, he says, “or from the offspring taken soon out