You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Poetry is IMO too hard to rate as it's completely subjective. There are some amazing poems in this collection... along with some less than amazing works.
I read a random page in a bookshop and decided I liked it enough to buy it. However, after reading the lengthy introduction which was quite patriotic and had strong Make America Great Again energy I was so put off I never really started reading it.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to love Whitman so much based on his overall hype. Poetry is beautiful, but I struggled to connect or be moved by his particular collection no matter how many times I’ve gone back and read and re-read his work. I understand why people love him, he simply leaves me uninspired
I'll start off with the good news: Since there are hundreds of poems in this book, there's a really good chance you'll find at least one that you like.
The bad news is that most of them, especially the first 2/3 or so, read like an extremely self-indulgent man's grocery list. Most of Whitman's poetry boils down to reading off a bunch of nouns and names of cities in the United States. The guy's ego is insane, too. He gets a little more palatable in old age, but not compelling enough to change my rating. Out of six hundred pages, I think I liked maybe three poems total, none of which were longer than a handful of lines. The only one that even stands out to me now was "To A Certain Civilian," because I'm probably that guy, centuries later. This is not a book meant for me to like or understand, and at least he's aware of it.
The bad news is that most of them, especially the first 2/3 or so, read like an extremely self-indulgent man's grocery list. Most of Whitman's poetry boils down to reading off a bunch of nouns and names of cities in the United States. The guy's ego is insane, too. He gets a little more palatable in old age, but not compelling enough to change my rating. Out of six hundred pages, I think I liked maybe three poems total, none of which were longer than a handful of lines. The only one that even stands out to me now was "To A Certain Civilian," because I'm probably that guy, centuries later. This is not a book meant for me to like or understand, and at least he's aware of it.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Whitman has taught me more about the person I want to be than I ever could have anticipated.
It's just nice to read something that's so proudly American without being "proudly American," if you get what I'm saying.
Now I just have to figure out what he's talking about.
Now I just have to figure out what he's talking about.