APPRECIATION OF THE POEM: Animals (Unit Two 2.1)

Line:
The poem ‘Animals’ has been penned by Walt Whitman.
Explanation:
👉 The poem called ‘Animals’ is written by a man named Walt Whitman.
💡 Penned means written.

Line:
The poet has broken away from the conventional use of a rhyme scheme and has written the poem in free verse.
Explanation:
👉 The poet did not follow the usual way of writing poems that have rhyming words. He wrote the poem in free verse, which means the poem has no rhyming pattern.
💡 Broken away from means did not follow.
💡 Conventional means usual or normal.
💡 Rhyme scheme means words that sound the same at the end of lines.
💡 Free verse means a poem that does not rhyme.

Line:
The chief figure of speech used in the poem is Repetition.
Explanation:
👉 The poem mainly uses a special style called Repetition.
💡 Chief means main or most important.
💡 Figure of speech means a special way of writing to make the poem more interesting.
💡 Repetition means repeating the same words again and again.

Line:
Lines such as ‘They do not sweat …’, ‘They do not lie awake …’, ‘They do not make me sick …’ make a strong impact, expressing the qualities that humans should possess, but do not.
Explanation:
👉 Lines like “They do not sweat”, “They do not lie awake”, and “They do not make me sick” are used again and again to give a strong message. These lines show good things that people should have, but don’t (which means people are missing these good qualities).
💡 Make a strong impact means give a strong message or feeling.
💡 Expressing means showing.
💡 Qualities means good things in a person.
💡 Possess means to have.

Line:
The other figures of speech are Alliteration, Tautology, Hyperbole, etc.

Explanation:
👉 The poem also uses other special ways of writing. Some of them are:

• Alliteration – This means using the same sound at the beginning of words.
  🟢 Example: big blue ball – all the words start with the ‘b’ sound.
• Tautology – A sentence has two different words, but the meaning is the same.
  🟢 Example: “I saw it with my own eyes.” – “saw” and “own eyes” mean the same thing, so one is not needed.
• Hyperbole – A sentence is written in an exaggerated way. It says something too much or beyond what is real, just to show strong feelings.
  🟢 Example: “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” – You can’t really eat a horse, but it shows you are very hungry.

💡 Figures of speech are special and creative ways of using words to make writing more powerful or beautiful.

Line:
In this poem, the poet feels animals live a better life than humans.
Explanation:
👉 The poet thinks that animals live a happier and nicer life than people.

Line:
They are calm, satisfied, and free from worries, greed, and pride.
Explanation:
👉 Animals are peaceful, happy, and do not feel worried, selfish, or proud.
💡 Calm means not angry or excited.
💡 Satisfied means happy with what they have.
💡 Worries means feeling bad or scared about something.
💡 Greed means wanting too much.
💡 Pride means thinking you are better than others.

Line:
Animals do not fight over religion or wealth.
Explanation:
👉 Animals do not argue about God or money and things.
💡 Wealth means money and things.

Line:
The poet admires their simple life and feels a deep connection with them,
Explanation:
👉 The poet likes how easy and plain animals live. He feels very close to them.
💡 Admires means likes very much.
💡 Simple life means easy and not fancy life.
💡 Deep connection means strong feeling of closeness.

Line:
as if they remind him of his true self.
Explanation:
👉 It feels like the animals help the poet remember who he really is inside.
💡 Remind means make someone remember.
💡 True self means who you really are inside your heart.