Read "I Sing the Body Electric" and annotate/take notes on your copy of it.
Notetaking Exercise for “I Sing the Body Electric”
Specific notetaking tasks (in addition to marking your own notes and questions as you read and re-read the poem):
1. Find at least one example of macrocosmic imagery and mark it. In the margin, make a comment about why Whitman uses this imagery or how it affects your interpretation of the lines around it.
2. Find three examples of parallel structure and mark them. On at least one of them, make a comment in the margin about the purpose or effect of using parallel structure at this point.
3. Color-mark one section of the poem, using different colors to mark things (types of imagery, types of words, etc.) that you notice. Include a key, and write some notes about what your color-marking made you notice.
4. Look for and mark devices such as alliteration, sibilance, assonance, and repetition. Comment on the effect of these techniques--how do they affect your reading of the poem? Why does Whitman use them?
5. At the end of the poem, write a brief statement summarizing your interpretation of Whitman's attitude toward the human body.
6. Review “I Sing the Body Electric” and “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” (Better yet, re-read them.) What generalizations can you make about Whitman's style? Somewhere in your packet, start keeping a list of typical Whitman techniques, subjects, and ideas.
