Whittier Reflection

For this reflection, I chose "A Sea Dream" by John Greenleaf Whittier. I thought this poem was amazing. The poem is broken down into three parts to help with cohesion. The first part describes the scenery that the speaker sees. It is apparent that he is closely familiar with it, as the words give several indicators that the speaker has watched time pass there. The scene he describes begins to feel like a small village on a cliff that overlooks the ocean because the poet mentions that a "rail car brought its daily crowds" and that he hears a song but it's hard to make out over the noise of children and other voices.

The second part is the song the speaker hears from afar. This is my favorite stanza in the whole poem: "The waves are glad in breeze and sun; the rocks are fringed with foam; I walk once more a haunted shore, a stranger, yet at home, a land of dreams I roam." (Whittier). I love the imagery in this stanza. This whole section of the poem was really beautiful in my opinion. Its flow and word usage really embody Romanticism as far as the style go. The message also goes with Romanticism because it features a young person observing nature while reflecting on how his love made him feel.

The third part goes back to focusing on the speaker and how it made him feel. This also hints rather heavily at Romanticism. My second favorite stanza was definitely the last one: "No word betrayed the mystery fine, That trembled on the singer's tongue; He came and went, and left no sign Behind him save the song he sung." (Whittier). I took this to mean that even though the people in the town can't really remember the man singing, the song he sings is still with them throughout their day. This poem was fantastic in my opinion.

Whittier, John G. "A Sea Dream by John Greenleaf Whittier." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. .