Witty Whitman

The aspect of Walt Whitman’s notes that I found to be the most intriguing were the sketches that he drew, depicting his vision for the poetry that accompanies them. The evolution of the man seen in varying pages is very interesting, as you can see first hand the development of Whitman’s thinking, and how he contrasted each picture to match how he envisioned the character. Although the sketches are drawn in a lacsidasical fashion, it is obvious to the viewer what the intentions of the pictures are, and the character traits that the man may possess. The most prominent change that I noticed was the man’s eyes. His eyes are open in the first picture yet progress to being hidden. This may be because Whitman noticed that the portrayal of this specific character was important because of his closure or secretevity.

After getting a view into a further analyzed version of the text, it is noted that there is a slim possibility that the pictures were even drawn my Whitman himself. Rather, it is probably a sketch of Whitman himself. This piece of information is extremely interesting, as it infers how Whitman was perceived by others- as a jolly figure who may have had something to hide. This connection could be made through the large hat he is seen wearing, and the bashful mood he sets for the audience by the closed eyes.