Comments for Notes for Select Whitman Poems

Comment on WITH HUSKY-HAUGHTY LIPS, O SEA! by Felicidad Bumby

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Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Samual Woodside

Samual Woodside — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:52:49 +0000

The best way to remember your wife’s birthday is to remember it once. – E. Joseph Cossman

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:57:46 +0000

The repeated use of action verbs in the larger framework of the poem emphasizes that it is full of action—it is an act of observing two eagles in the act of mating. Repetition of “ing” sound enhances the sound of the poem when read aloud and echoes the intensity and chaos of the dalliance. Four of the poem’s fifteen action verbs occur in this line: “clinching,” “interlocking,” “living,” and “gyrating.”

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:52:55 +0000

Consonance is used in both the opening and closing lines of the poem to maintain a rhythmic effect. See “river road” and “skyward in air a sudden muffled sound” in lines 1 and 2 and “she hers, he his, pursuing” in line 10. Repetition of initial consonant sounds can also be seen in “clinching interlocking claws” (line 4) and “tumbling, turning” (line 6).

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:48:31 +0000

Parallelism is one of the conventions Whitman uses to maintain rhythm in this poem. In line 5 and 6 nouns are consistently modified by verbs- “interlocking claws,” “gyrating wheel,” “beating wings,” “clustering loops,” and “swirling mass tight grappling.” This word structure also establishes equality in the eagles’ actions (clinching claws are as essential and noteworthy as beating wings).

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:44:37 +0000

A dalliance is “a leisurely or frivolous passing of time, the act or an instance of light-hearted flirting, a casual love affair” (OED). Whitman’s choice of the word dalliance to describe this incident is telling. Like a dalliance, this poem is intimate but light-hearted. It is the result of a casual observation that is expressed in exalted terminology.

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:43:01 +0000

Whitman’s elevated diction reflects his attitude toward the eagles and their activities and accentuates the grandeur of the birds in the natural act of reproduction. Note the use of “twain” instead of two in this line and “pinion” instead of wing in line 9.

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:40:43 +0000

Whitman’s use of anastrophe (inverted word order) can be seen in the phrases “upward again on slow-firming pinions slanting,” and “their separate diverse flight, she hers, he his pursuing” in lines 9 and 10. By placing the verb at the end of these phrases, Whitman creates anticipation and invites the reader to savor the details and become a companion voyeur to the walker.

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:37:59 +0000

Note the images of the birds’ anatomical parts in lines 4, 5, 8, and 9- claws, wings, beaks, pinions, and talons. Claws, talons, and beaks are potentially violent images. Wings and pinions, “the outer part of a bird’s wing, usually including the flight feathers,” are images of freedom, flight and movement (OED). The focus on these images with very different connotations perhaps suggests that the physical act of sex is a violent liberation. The anatomizing of the birds’ physical bodies effectively communicates that the whole of their bodies are involved in this act while also emphasizing the biological, concrete aspects of sex.

Comment on THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES. by Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:34:27 +0000

The poem starts with an image of a river road. Rivers and roads are both associated with various journeys, but rivers have the additional connotation of being a source of life. Using an image representative of life is appropriate to the potentially life-giving act of the eagles.