I Sit and Look Out

1. The poem’s image of sailors casting lots (lines 13-14) stands out in the poem for the detail it conveys and for its specificity. Furthermore, many other images, such as the mother, the battle, and the wife, would likely have been relatable for Whitman’s readers. However, most readers had probably never experienced life at sea, let alone a dramatic situation like Whitman describes.

What stands out to you about the image of the sailors? How does it fit in with and/or stand out from the other descriptions in the poem? How does Whitman use the sailors to bring up the concept of fate? Write a journal or freewrite in response to these questions, and then discuss your ideas with a partner.

Next, create a visual representation of the sailors. You could draw or paint the scene of the sailors at sea, create a comic strip or infographic, or focus on a specific detail, such as representing the famine by drawing empty food barrels. Other options include making origami dice to represent the practice of casting lots, or perhaps depicting the scene in the moments after the lots have been cast. Who has been chosen to be “kill’d to preserve the lives of the rest”? (14). What does that moment look like?

2. Walt Whitman was one of America’s most significant nineteenth-century poets, and his poetry often highlighted American democracy and the American spirit of hard work and national expansion. Read “I Sit and Look Out” again, this time taking notes on how Whitman characterizes America in his poem. Write at least five observations Whitman makes about American individuals, morals, or government.

Next, read one of Whitman’s other poems that catalogs the speaker’s observations: “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” This poem was written in 1856, four years before “I Sit and Look Out” and five years before the start of the Civil War. Once again, take notes on at least five observations Whitman conveys about America. What ideas about America do the details in the poem point to?

After you have a list for each poem, create a Venn diagram to show any differences and similarities between the poems’ depictions of the condition of America (see example template below). As you create your diagram, consider other elements of the poems to include in your comparison, such as tone, word choice, and point of view.

After completing your diagram, discuss your findings with a partner. Update your

diagram to include any points of comparison or similarity that you may not have seen on your own.

Finally, discuss the following questions as a class:

• “I Sit and Look Out” was written one year before the start of the Civil War. How might this timing account for the differences between it and “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” written five years before the start of the war?
• It’s clear from Whitman’s poetry that he wanted to provide a picture of the American nation through his poems. If he were alive today and still writing poems about America, what are some negative things you think he would highlight about the country? What are some positive things he might highlight?

3. Write your own poem stating your observations of people or situations in present-day America to give what you feel is an accurate depiction of the nation’s condition. Use Whitman’s “I + verb” structure and include both general and specific images in your poem. You can choose to use the same verbs as Whitman, such as “I sit,” “I hear,” “I see,” or you can create observational verbs of your own. For example, you may use the following template, filling in your own list of people or situations, or you may replace the verbs if you feel that different actions would coordinate better with your images.

I sit and look out upon _________________________

______________________________________________,                    

I hear _________________________________________

______________________________________________,                                

I see __________________________________________

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I see _________________________, I see__________

______________________________________________,

I mark _________________________________________,

I see __________________________________________,

I see _________________________, I see____________

______________________________________________,

I observe _____________________, I observe_______

______________________________________________,

I observe ______________________________________

______________________________________________

All these—all the ______________________________

I sitting look out upon,

See, hear, and am _______________________________.