To A Locomotive In Winter And I Like To See It Lap The Miles

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Every poem has a different way of getting a point across. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman show us that writing about the same topic doesn’t necessary mean the poems are going to be extremely similar. The poems “To a Locomotive in Winter” and “I Like to See It Lap the Miles” both create the image and feel of a train. However, the poets chose to do this in completely different ways, making each poem unique for specific reasons. There are some similarities between these two poems, but even more differences that make the reader delve deeper into the meanings of these poems. Walt Whitman’s “To a Locomotive in Winter” is obviously a poem about a locomotive, as we can assume from the title. This locomotive was portrayed as extremely powerful.…show more content…
We can assume this because of the words “thy” and “thee” used in the beginning of each line of the poem. It seems like this poem is more towards a prayer or speech written for someone because of the way the poet uses the word “I”. This poem is written in free verse and kind of has its own style, also representing the train in this poem. The locomotive in this poem can’t be stopped and is traveling on its own path. The line, “Law of thyself complete, thine own track firmly holding” shows us that this train is going on this path that no one can interfere. The speaker of this poem talks to this train while making sure the readers understand what this train looks like, sounds like, and knows how it operates. From the line, “Thee in the driving storm, even as now-the snow-the winter –day declining,” we learn that this engine can get through any condition again represents how powerful this one train is. This line also tells us that there still is snow and bad weather, however it is almost over. This snow and storms are examples of problems that get in the way and cause struggles to our nation. This train is described as “Type of modern – emblem of motion and power – pulse of the continent” and again,…show more content…
But unlike the poem “To a Locomotive in Winter,” this poem could be about almost anything. We are given to clues from just reading the title. For starts, this poem is written completely different than the one by Whitman. There is a rhythm by the use of iambic pentameter and there are equal stanzas separating the poem, something the other poem did not do. Unlike Whitman’s poem, Dickinson only uses “I” one time throughout the entire poem. The speaker seems to be an observer that sees this action instead of actually being involved in what the poem is saying, like in Whitman’s poem. This poem is also interesting because it says words like “neigh” and “stable” making us think this poem is actually about a horse. But how does a horse “lick the Valleys up?” This “horse” must be extraordinarily bigger than we think, showing us how metaphor can be used in a poem. Dickinson uses personification when giving the train traits that are more animal like ones. Words such as “lick,” “feed,” “crawl,” and “chase” all are words describing more of a creature than a train yet are used to describe this train as it travels. This is also something Whitman didn’t do in his poem about the train because he chose to be on a more literal level. The speaker in this poem also talks and admires the power and speed, just like the speaker in
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  • Comparing Emily Dickinson And Walt Whitman's To A Locomotive In Winter

    1022 Words  | 5 Pages

    written poems using the powerful and once revolutionary form of transportation, trains. Renowned poet Walt Whitman wrote the poem “To a Locomotive in Winter”. This poem concentrates more specifically on the locomotive of a train, which is the engine car that carries the rest of the train. The reclusive poet Emily Dickinson wrote the poem “I like to see it lap the Miles” which is more of a viewing of the entire train described as one would watch an animal, such as a young child would watch an animal in

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