Recurring Images and Motifs in "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"
In the poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman,
there are many recurring images and motifs that can be seen.
Whitman develops these images throughout the course of the
poem. The most dominant of these are the linear notion of
time, playing roles, and nature. By examining these motifs
and tracing their development, ones understanding of the poem
becomes highly deepened.
Whitman challenges the linear notion of time by
connecting past with future. This can be seen in the first
stanza, as the poem opens: "And you that shall cross from
shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my
meditations than you might suppose"(4-5). This lets the reader
know that he has written this with the reader in mind, even
before that reader existed. He challenges time by connecting
his time with ours. He has preconcived us reading this poem.
When we read his words we are connected to him and his feelings,
all in the same time. He is sure that after he is gone the water
will still run and people will still "see the shipping of
Manhattan/and the heights of Brooklyn" (14-15). He makes his past
and our futher all one.
No matter the time nor the distance, the reader will
experience the same way he experiences at the moment in time
Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky...
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- "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman Recurring Images and Motifs in "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" In the poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman, there are many recurring images and motifs that can be seen. Whitman develops these images throughout the course of the poem. The most dominant of these are the linear notion of time, playing roles, and nature. By examining these motifs and tracing their development, ones understanding of the poem becomes highly deepened. Whitman challenges the linear notion of time by connecting past with future.... [tags: Poem Poet Whitman Brooklyn Ferry Essays]
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