I Think I Could Turn and Live with Animals

 

Poem Appreciation

1. Match the lines from the poem to what they suggest

Phrases/Lines from the poem	Suggested meaning
I stand and look at them long and long.	They are content with their life.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,	Animals don’t worry about their condition.
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,	They are not obsessed with material possessions.
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,	The poet is fascinated by them.
….demented with the mania of owning things,	Animals don’t worry about the mistakes they make.

 Answers:

Phrases/Lines from the poem	Suggested meaning
I stand and look at them long and long.	The poet is fascinated by them.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,	Animals don’t worry about their condition.
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,	Animals don’t worry about the mistakes they make.
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,	They are content with their life.
….demented with the mania of owning things,	They are not obsessed with material possessions.

 2. Answer the following questions.

a. What is the poet’s desire?

The poet wants to live with animals.

b. What are the qualities that endear animals to him?

Animals are placid and self-contained. They do not complain about their condition and they do not worry about the mistakes they make. They are not afraid of God. Every animal is happy and satisfied. They are all equal and they do not want to gather material things. These are the qualities of the animals that endear to the poet.

c. What vices in human beings does the poet notice?

Humans are easily worried and depend on others. They are not content with what they have and they are afraid of the sins they commit. They fear God and bow before fellow humans. They want to possess material things. No one is happy. These are the vices poet noticed in human beings.

d. How do the animals react to the poet?

Animals show their true feelings to the poet. They reveal their relations to him just as they relate.

e. What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which animals have kept for themselves?

The ‘tokens’ that the poet refers in the poem are good qualities such as simplicity, innocence, and contentment.

f. What is the theme of the poem?

The poet, Walt Whitman wants human beings to have good qualities such as simplicity, innocence, and contentment. He says that animals have kept these qualities whereas humans have forgotten the good qualities.

g. What is the tone of the poet?

In this poem. the poet wants to live with animals as they have good qualities. His tone is regretful and longing.