Commentary

 “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” (1859) is a long narrative

poem, written in the free verse that is typical of Walt Whitman’s
style. In this passage, the text opens on the poet-speaker’s memory
of himself as a child, listening to the lament of the bird who has lost
his mate. This loss of love colours the expression of the bird’s song,
translated into human meaning by the child.
 My analysis will seek to illuminate the ways in which the
observation of something painful-the tragic loss experienced by the
he-bird-contributes to the child’s understanding of what is most
precious in life. I will begin by examining the relationship between
the two voices in the passage, that of the apprentice poet, and that
of the love-bird; secondly, I will focus on the variety and intensity of
the emotions related to the experience of loss in the bird’s song; I
will conclude my analysis on a study of the way the poet has
rendered the experience in poetic form.
Presentation

 “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” (1859) is a long

narrative poem, written in the free verse that is typical of
Walt Whitman’s style.
Main point of the extract
 In this passage, the text opens on the poet’s memory of
himself as a child, listening to the lament of the bird who has
lost his mate. This loss of love colours the expression of the
bird’s song, translated into human meaning by the child.
 Thesis statement
 My analysis will seek to illuminate the ways in which the
observation of something painful-the tragic loss
experienced by the he-bird-contributes to the child’s
understanding of what is most precious in life.
 Outline

 I will begin by examining the relationship between the

two voices in the passage, that of the apprentice poet, and
that of the love-bird; secondly, I will focus on the variety
and intensity of the emotions related to the experience
of loss in the bird’s song; I will conclude my analysis on a
study of the way the poet has represented the experience in
poetic form.