Analysis of assurances

Walt Whitman 1819 (West Hills) – 1892 (Camden)




   I NEED no assurances--I am a man who is preoccupied, of his own Soul;
   I do not doubt that from under the feet, and beside the hands and
         face I am cognizant of, are now looking faces I am not
         cognizant of--calm and actual faces;
   I do not doubt but the majesty and beauty of the world are latent in
         any iota of the world;
   I do not doubt I am limitless, and that the universes are limitless--
         in vain I try to think how limitless;
   I do not doubt that the orbs, and the systems of orbs, play their
         swift sports through the air on purpose--and that I shall one
         day be eligible to do as much as they, and more than they;
   I do not doubt that temporary affairs keep on and on, millions of
         years;
   I do not doubt interiors have their interiors, and exteriors have
         their exteriors--and that the eye-sight has another eye-sight,
         and the hearing another hearing, and the voice another voice;
   I do not doubt that the passionately-wept deaths of young men are
         provided for--and that the deaths of young women, and the
         deaths of little children, are provided for;
   (Did you think Life was so well provided for--and Death, the purport
         of all Life, is not well provided for?)
   I do not doubt that wrecks at sea, no matter what the horrors of
         them--no matter whose wife, child, husband, father, lover, has
         gone down, are provided for, to the minutest points;         10
   I do not doubt that whatever can possibly happen, any where, at any
         time, is provided for, in the inherences of things;
   I do not think Life provides for all, and for Time and Space--but I
         believe Heavenly Death provides for all.


Scheme ABCDEFGGHIJKLMNOPQRSRKTUVWXY
Poetic Form
Metre 11101001101110101111 1111111001001010 1111001111010111 10011010010 1111101000101011100 10010101 1111111000101001100 0111111100 111110100101111 1110111001111 1110001111110111 11111100011101101 1 11110100110100001001 1010001011101011 0010010100010101 1111101000111111 01010101111000 11101010101 111111101010101 1111110101 1111111111010101 11101111010101 11101011011 1111110110010101110 11010100111 1111101110110111 0110010111
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,738
Words 294
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 28
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 43
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,216
Words per stanza (avg) 299
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

1:28 min read
176

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. more…

All Walt Whitman poems | Walt Whitman Books

35 fans

Discuss this Walt Whitman poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "assurances" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37973/assurances>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    28
    days
    1
    hour
    26
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the 1916 poem "Out, Out—"?
    A Robert Browning
    B Robert Frost
    C Elinor Frost
    D Emily Dickinson