UNIT 2.

1 ANIMALS
 Walt Whitman (1819-1892) : A major figure in early
American poetry. In an age when all poetry was rhymed and metrical,
Whitman made a break with tradition and wrote a revolutionary new
kind of poetry in free verse. He was a nonconformist in all respects,
including his
social life.
The poet tells us that he feels more at home with animals than
humans, what he finds complicated and false.

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contain’d
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
the mania of owning things.
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop
them?
- Walt Whitman
Introduction to the lesson
Walt Whitman has shown the comparison between human beings and animals
in his poem. He has pointed out the evils present inside the human brain which
he thinks animals don’t have. That is why he thinks that animals are much
better than human beings.

Animals Poem Summary

In the poem animals, the poet has described his will to become an animal because
he thinks animals are far better than human beings. Human beings are greedy and
full of jealousy against each other. But animals are calm and self contained. The
animals are happy with what they have. They never complain about miseries and
sorrows. On the other hand human beings complain about their miseries. They give
more importance to the rich and strong people, stay restless because of their
wrongdoings and run behind the luxurious things of this world. Whereas animals
are honest about their relations and don’t give importance to a particular class.
They live a life which is full of honesty and less of greed and jealousy.
 Animals Poem and Explanation
I think I could turn and live with animals,
they are so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.

Placid: calm, peaceful

Contained; keep up control

The poet says that he wants to live in the world of animals. Here we can say that
the poet finds the world of animals better than that of human beings. He further
says that he finds animals more peaceful than humans. He says so because
animals are not running after worldly things like human beings. They are calm
and have no greed for worldly things or any kind of achievements. They are self
contained means they are happy with life and never interfere in the lives of
others. Humans have the habit of interfering in the lives of others. So, poet thinks
that animals are better than humans for being calm and not interfering in the
matters of others. The poet further says that these are the reasons why he stands
still and looks at the animals for a very long time.
Literary Devices:
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘I’ (I, think, I,
live, with, animals)
Repetition: use of the word ‘long’
They do not sweat and whine about theircondition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,  
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
the mania of owning things,
Sweat: here it means complaint Whine: cry
Sins: wrongdoing
Demented: mad, disturbed

The poet says that unlike humans, animals don’t complain of any misery. They never cry
out loud like humans do, to show what they have lost. They never stay awake in the night,
crying in repentance for their wrongdoings. This means that animals are different from
human beings because they don’t show anger or grief if something wrong happens with
them. He further says that animals are very truthful because they never boast of their
good deeds done in the name of god. He says so because most of the human beings do
this. They try to show their good deeds and religiousness to others. They do so in order to
gain popularity among their fellows. So, the poet thinks that animals never irritate him by
doing such things just to gain some praise from their fellow people. He feels that the
animals are not dissatisfied like humans. They stay happy with whatever they have. They
never run behind worldly things. They never try to possess things of comfort or luxury.  He
says that none of them is mad behind owning the worldly things.
Metaphor:  sweat and whine refer to the cries and complaints of human beings

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that

lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. 
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
Kneels: bow down
Evince: show, reveal
Possession: ownership of something
Tokens: here, the qualities

Here the poet says that he has never seen any animal showing his
devotion to anyone by bowing down in front of the person. They never do
so even for their ancestors. They do not show devotion towards God like
humans do. No one among them is more respectable or important as we
have in human society. In human beings, rich people are generally given
more importance and are treated with more respect as compared to the
poor. 
But in the society of animals, they never do so. They never give more or less
importance to any other animal. Everyone in the animal world is happy. They are
not like human beings who find themselves the happiest or the saddest person
on earth. Further the poet says that animals are more honest in showing their
relations with other animals. Here he wants to say that animals use other
animals as their food and they never try to hide this. Whereas human beings
show that they have nice and friendly relations with others, though the reality is
opposite. The poet says that he accepts the fact that animals are true towards
showing their relation with other animals.
Metaphor: The inner qualities of humans are referred to as tokens

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and
negligently drop them?

Negligently: Carelessly
So at last the poet introspects himself and says that from where the animals
got those good qualities. He further questions himself that where his own good
qualities are gone? Did he left them or had carelessly lost them somewhere.
The qualities that were found in human beings in the past, like innocence,
kindness, truthfulness are now seen in animals. He wonders that humans gave
up these qualities and they have been passed on to the animals.

Animals Poem Rhyme Scheme

There is no rhyme scheme followed in the poem.
 
 Animals Poem Question and Answers
Q1- Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals…”
What is the poet turning from?

A1- The poet is turning away from living in the world of human beings. He finds animals more
placid and self contained and therefore, he wants to live with them.

Q2- Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t?

A2- The three things that humans do and animals don’t are as follows:
Humans complain and cry about the miseries and sorrows they face.
Humans lie awake in the night thinking about their wrongdoings.
Humans also keep telling others about their religiousness and duties towards God.

Q3- Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in groups?

A3- Yes humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They could be
some ancestors, saints or the preachers whom they follow religiously. They worship them and
follow their preaching.
Q4- What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and
which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class. (Hint: Whitman belongs
to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, which holds that
civilisation has made humans false to their own true nature. What could be the
basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?)

A4- The word tokens according to the poet is the good qualities in human beings.
The poet feels that now a days good qualities do not exist in human beings. They
have lost them for the sake of worldly things which they want to achieve at any cost.

Q5. What could have happened to the tokens of the poet’s self?
The tokens of the poet’s self might have been lost along the path of his evolution
from an animal state to a human state.
 Appreciation:
The poem ‘Animals’ has been penned by Walt Whitman. This poem is written
In free verse (having no rhyme scheme) This reflective poem describes the qualities
of animals that human beings must have possessed in the early stages of
Evaluation, but which we have lost. The poet indicates that we should possesses
These qualities in order to improve human relationships and to make this
World a better place to live in.
The chief figure of speech used in the poem is ‘repetition’, Lines such as ‘They do
not sweat….’, ‘They do not lie awake…’, ‘They do not make me sick…’
I like this poem very much as it tells us indirectly that if we want to improve human
relationships we should observe and pick up qualities that animals now possess
and which we might have once possessed but have carelessly given up on the path
of evolution.
 LET’S START EVALUATING OURSELVES

Q.1.Get into pairs and attempt the following:

“The more I learn about people, the more
I like my dog” – Mark Twain
-Discuss with your partner what Mark Twain means by the above quote. Write in
-your own words.
By the above quote, Mark Twain means that his dog has certain qualities which
he wishes that human beings possess ,but do not. Each day, as he comes across
people and learns more about human nature , the feeling grows within him that
humans possess many disagreeable qualities that do not help in improving
Relationships. As a result, he begins to love his dog more than human beings.
 True or false:

1. Animals are self-reliant. T

2. Animals quarrel for their possessions. F
3. Animals do not worship other animals. T
4. Humans have given up many good qualities. T
5. Animals suffer humiliation. F
6. The poet has retained all his natural virtues. F

Complete the following:

a. The poet wishes he could turn and live with animals.
b. Animals do not complain about their condition.
c. Animals do not merely discuss their duty to God.
d. Animals are not crazy about owning things.
Q.3. With the help of the poem, find the difference between animals and human beings:
Human beings
always complaining about
their condition
spend sleepless nights regretting
their sins
sicken others by discussing their
duty to God
always dissatisfied
crazy about acquiring possessions
worship other human beings
always unhappy about earthly
matters
Animals
never complaining about their
condition
don’t regret their sins at all
do not discuss their duty to God
always contented.
never interested in owning things
never worship anyone of their
kind
unconcerned about earthly
matters
 Q.4. READ THE POEM AND COMPLETE THE WEB:

They do not worry

about matters They are placid and
concerning the earth self-contained

Good values
They are not and good They do not worship
interested in worldly habits that can other humans or any
belongings be learnt from ancestors
animals

They show qualities of

They do not complain
innocence and
about their condition
simplicity
Q.5. Match the words given in Table A with their meanings in Table B:

A B
1. whine a. an offence against religious or moral law
2. sin b. complain in an annoying way
3. evince c. mental illness
4. mania d. failing to take proper care
5. negligent e. show
Q.6. Find out lines from the poem that are examples of the following figures of speech:

Figures of speech Lines

Repetition I stand and look at them long and long.
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented
with the mania of owning things.

Alliteration I stand and look at them long and long.

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
Hyperbole Not one is respectable or unhappy over the
whole earth.
NEENA RAKESH