Question

Read this excerpt from Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing” from Leaves of Grass.

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as
he stands.

Whitman most likely uses this structure for his poem to
present a poem with a natural, conversational rhythm.
show his talent for using traditional rhyme scheme.
share a narrative poem using the storytelling structure.
reflect a lyrical style using stressed and unstressed syllables.

Answer 1

present a poem with a natural, conversational rhythm.

Whitman uses free verse and a catalog of everyday workers to create a flowing, speechlike cadence—celebrating individual voices rather than following a traditional rhyme, strict meter, or narrative story.