Animals
By Walt
Whitman
Analysis
:
· The
poem ‘Animals’ is composed by Walt Whitman, renowned as national poet of
America. This poem is song no. 32 in the ‘Song of Myself’ which is a part of Walt
Whitman’s collection ‘The Leaves of Grass’.
· The
poem is critical in tone and didactic in nature. It criticises human attitude
of never being satisfied.
· The
poem is composed as free verse without any rhyme scheme and stanza division and
pattern. The line length is also irregular.
· The
Poet making a comparative study between Animals and humans affirms that animals
are far better than human beings.
· The
poem conveys that the human beings in the course of being civilised, advanced
and progressive, have lost the more important values such as innocence,
contentment and happiness. He stresses upon the fact that if we are not happy,
contented and peaceful, all the civilisation and advancement is of no use.
· The
theme of the poem is that real happiness and peace of mind are more important
than advancement and development.
Summary
/ Synopsis
The poet, Walt Whitman wants to take a U-turn and go back to the old age when humans used to live the way animals do. He wants to live
among animals because he thinks animals are far better than human beings.
Animals are calm, contented and peaceful. He wants to observe them so that he may learn and imbibe their qualities.
According to the poet, there is no end to the desires of human beings. They are always dissatisfied and keep complaining about their present condition. The animals unlike humans
don’t get depressed and restless, nor they weep for their sins or past mistakes.
The animals don’t bother about their religious
duties and God. The human beings worship other human
gods who lived on this earth thousand years ago.
The animals are blessed with self satisfaction also, they are not mad about hoarding all the materialistic things. They are satisfied and happier that’s why they don’t try to please
other animals. No animal is more respectable for other animals.
The poet accepts the animals as his
ancestors and feels that he belongs to them. Animals clearly show to have possessed the
qualities which even human beings possessed once and lost them out of their
ignorance. Unfortunately,
in the course of being civilised they have lost these qualities that they were
born with.
Line
by line explanation
Line
1 – 2
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.
In these lines, the poet has expressed his wish to about
turn and go back to the ancient time when humans used to live the way animals
do. He wants to live among animals because he thinks animals are far better
than human beings. Animals are calm, contented and peaceful. He wants to stand
close to them and observe them quietly for a long time, to learn their
qualities so that he can make his life more peaceful and happier.
Line
3 -8
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.
According to the poet human beings are greedy and
there is no end to their desires. They tire themselves beyond the limit in
fulfilling their desires and are always dissatisfied with their lot. They keep
complaining about their present condition and always feel miserable. On the
contrary the animals are happy with what they have. The animals unlike humans
don’t get depressed and restless, nor they shed tears for their wrong doings.
They don’t worry about their religious duties nor they bother so much about
pleasing God. Here, the poet criticises humans who give more importance to their
religion and God than their fellow human beings. The animals are blessed with
self satisfaction and unlike humans they are not mad about hoarding all the
materialistic things and luxuries. The human beings worship other human gods
who lived on this earth thousand years ago. Here, Walt Whitman criticises
humans for worshipping human gods from various religions such as Rama, Buddha,
Mahavir, Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, etc. The animals on the contrary consider other
animals equal to them. The poet mocks at human beings and their ignorance about
God as animals seem to be more understanding to the poet. They are satisfied
and happier that’s why they don’t try to please other animals. No animal is
more respectable for other animals. All are considered to be equal by animals
but unfortunately humans don’t understand these simple things that’s why they
are always unhappy and miserable.
Line
9 - 12
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?
The poet is able to see that the animals are his
ancestors and human beings developed from them. The poet proudly accepts the
animals as his ancestors and feels that he belongs to them. Animals clearly show to have possessed the
qualities which even human beings possessed once and lost them out of their
ignorance. Unfortunately, in the course
of being civilised they have lost these qualities that they were born with.
Hence, the poet decides to take a U turn and go back to the ancient time and enjoy
living with animals the way they live.
Poetic
Devices
I think I could turn and live with animals, they
are - Anaphora , Assonance, Repetition
so placid and self-contain’d,
- Consonance
I stand and look at them long and long. – Anaphora, Repetition, Consonance
They do not sweat and whine
about their condition, - Anaphora, Metaphor
They do not lie awake in
the dark and weep for their sins, - Anaphora
They do not make me sick discussing their duty
to God, - Anaphora, Alliteration
Not one is dissatisfied, not one
is demented with
– Repetition, Alliteration, Consonance
Not one kneels to another,
nor to his kind that – Anaphora,
Alliteration
Not one is respectable or
unhappy over the whole earth. – Anaphora
So they show their relations to me and I accept them, - Alliteration
They bring me tokens
of myself, they evince – Alliteration
them plainly in their possession – Alliteration
I wonder where they
get those tokens,
- Alliteration, Metaphor
Note : There is an extended metaphor used
in the entire poem as the poem is a comparative study between human being and
animals.
Important
Question - Answers
Q1. How does the poet
in the poem ‘Animals’ suggest that animals enjoy their present while human
beings cry over past and worry for future? How are animals different from man
according to the poet?
Ans. Walt Whitman
admires the qualities of the animals and wishes to live with animals as they
clearly understand what they want and when they get it, enjoy it without pining
for what other things they don't possess. Animals are contented and know how to
be happy with their lot. Animals are not restless and feel miserable, nor they
lie awake in nights crying over their past. The humans, on the contrary, always
crave for the past and cry for the things they don't have instead of enjoying
the bounties they have at the moment. They worry about the future and would
always imagine that they would be happier with the thing they don't possess at
the moment.
Q 2. Why does the poet
wish to turn and go to live with the animals?
Ans. Walt Whitman being
a romantic poet can learn important lessons from nature and other creatures of
nature that he considers equal to men. He perceived the futility of
civilisation and advancement because man is not able to enjoy his gains and
cries for what he doesn't have. Hence he wants to go back to ancient period
when men were like animals and were happy and satisfied with their lot. All the
progress and civilization is worthless if they can't make us happy.
