Literary devices are tools used by writers to convey their emotions, ideas, and

themes to make texts more appealing to the reader. Walt Whitman has used various
literary devices to enhance the intended impacts of his poem. Some of the major
literary devices have been analyzed below.

 Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an

end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“I swear I will never again mention love or death inside a house,

And I swear I will never translate myself at all, only to him or her who privately
stays with me in the open air.”

 Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same

line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /s/ in “And I say to any
man or woman, Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million
universes”; the sound of /f/ in “Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged”;
the sound of /g/ in “I perceive that the ghastly glimmer is noonday sunbeams
reflected” and the sound of /s/ in “Speeding through space, speeding through
heaven and the stars”.
 Imagery: Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things involving
their five senses. For example, “Here are biscuits to eat and here is milk to
drink”, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love” and “If
you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.”
 Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line.
For example, the sound of /a/ in “I tread day and night such roads”; the
sound of /ee/ in “In vain the mastodon retreats beneath its own powder’d
bones”; and the sound of /oo/ in “Blind loving wrestling touch, sheath’d
hooded sharp-tooth’d touch!”
 Rhetorical Question Rhetorical question is a sentence that is posed to make
the point clear. For example, “Listener up there! What have you to confide
to me?”, “Do you see O my brothers and sisters “ and “Why should I wish to
see God better than this day?”
 Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part
of some verses. For example,

“For me” in section seven of the poem to emphasize the point such as;
For me the man that is proud and feels how it stings to be slighted,
For me the sweet-heart and the old maid, for me mothers and the mothers of
mothers,
For me lips that have smiled, eyes that have shed tears,
For me children and the begetters of children.”

 Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate

objects. There are several personified objects throughout the poem. For
example, “I loafe and invite my soul” and “Or I guess the grass is itself a
child, the produced babe of the vegetation.”
 Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by
giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal
meanings. “Grass” symbolizes regeneration of nature and unity or oneness
of people, and “I” is the symbol of mankind.

1. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a long poem having

fifty-two sections in it with various lengths. There are single verses,
couplets, triplets as well.
2. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of
rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.