Walt Whitman:

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Walt Whitman To A Stranger
Lived from 1819-1892
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Passing stranger! you do not know how longingly I
look upon you, You must be he I was seeking, or
she I was seeking, (it comes to me as of a
dream,) I have somewhere surely lived a life of
joy with you, All is recall'd as we flit by each
other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,
You grew up with me, were a boy with me or a
girl with me, I ate with you and slept with you,
your body has become not yours only nor left my
body mine only, You give me the pleasure of your
eyes, face, flesh, as we pass, you take of my
beard, breast, hands, in return, I am not to
speak to you, I am to think of you when I sit
alone or wake at night alone, I am to wait, I
do not doubt I am to meet you again, I am to see
to it that I do not lose you.
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Meaning/Theme
MEANING THEME
I think that the meaning to this poem is that he
likes this person and thinks they actually have
some history together. Now they are unsure if
even they want to remember each other due to
probably a fight that they had.
LOVE
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CRITIQUE

• In this poem, repetition is used in the first
  stanza, You must be he I was seeking, Or she I
  was seeking. There is also a little bit of
  alliteration in this poem, face, flesh and
  beard, breast.
• I dont really like this poem. I guess that I
  dont really like love poems. However, I find it
  meaningful because that is often how
  relationships go. I also think that it is a poem
  that has a lot of emotion in it.
• QUESTIONS
• Why do you think he wrote the poem?
• How do you think that he came up with the title?
• What does the title mean to you?
• This is a really old poem, why do you think it
  has been around so long?
• How does the fact that she grew up with him
  matter?

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(No Transcript)