Walt Whitman
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,
The woodcutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
1. Fill in the blanks with the given words to complete the following paragraph.
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman, portrays a very strong, 1) America. Many citizens of the country share his views, both in the present and in 1860. Now, the war is “over there”, but in 1860, a war was about to erupt in the heart of America. Even though this powerful poem was written just a year before the 2) War officially broke out, there was bitter argument between the children of American at the time. Whitman wrote his poem to emphasize what makes the United States 3) : the simple combination of every man and woman happily dedicated to their 4) , not bickering about the rights and wrongs of “true” American 5) . Walt Whitman uses 6) of hard-working Americans and the repetition of “ 7) ” to show the North and South that the determination of the working 8) (black or white, male or female) will make the United States of America great. Walt Whitman, through his poem, was speaking to 9) Americans, in the North and the South. His audience is shown the value of the working class through extensive 10) .