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PREPARED BY

JAYAKRISHNAN MANGHAT

PGT ENGLISH

JNV GADAG DIST.

KARNATAKA

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Acknowledgement

I am grateful to the assistance rendered by the Principal, Vice Principal and the staff of the vidyalaya in completing this work.

I am also grateful to the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti for providing me the opportunity to do this work.

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WALT WHITMAN

Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.

May 31, 1819

to ‎

March 26, 1892

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The poem ‘Animals’ is from his work ‘Song of Myself’ in Leaves of grass.

Walt Whitman has shown the comparison between human beings and animals in this poem.

He has pointed out the evils present inside the human brain which he thinks animals don’t have.

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MOTIVATION

Name some animals.
What are the categories of animals?
What is the nature of these animals?
Who is at the apex of the animal kingdom?
What is the nature of this animal?

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STANZA-1 (PARAPHRASE)

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, the 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’

Anaphora: ‘I’ word used at the start of two consecutive lines

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STANZA-2 (PARAPHRASE)

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,

�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.

Literary Devices:�Anaphora: use of repeated words at the beginning of two or more consecutive lines (use of “they do not”)�Metaphor: sweat and whine refer to the cries and complaints of human beings

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STANZA-3 (PARAPHRASE)

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.

�Literary Devices:�Metaphor: The inner qualities of humans are referred to as tokens

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STANZA -4 (PARAPHRASE)

I wonder where they get those tokens,�Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?�

Negligently: Carelessly

� 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.

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SYNOPSIS

In this poem, the poet expresses his will to go back in time and stay with animals as he thinks that they are far better than human beings. Human beings are greedy and are full of jealousy against each other but the animals are calm and self-contained. They are happy with what they have. They never complain about their miseries and sorrows. The human beings on the other hand complain about their miseries. They give importance to rich and strong people, stay restless because of their wrong doings and run behind the luxurious things of the world. The animals are very honest about their relations and don’t give preference to a particular class. They lead a life which is full of honesty and less of greed and jealousy. The ‘token’ – is the key which can open the gate of Eden Garden. This is the key of Love and Compassion.

This key was gifted by God to humans. But ignorantly they lost that key and forgot the basic commandment of Loving and being Loved.

So, the poet wants us to introspect about the fast paced life and the vices associated with it and is asking us to be more humane and lead the selfless life of animals, the quality which is becoming redundant among human beings.

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