Writing Assignment: Voice
1.
What differences in tone do you find between Whitman’s and Dickinson’s poems? Point out in each poem whatever contributes to these differences.
The flow of Whitman’s poem is very choppy. The tone is very heavy and serious.
But he reflects a feeling of being in awe of the train. He is impressed with the power that the train possesses. In lines two and three, Whitman describes riding on the train in the middle of a snow storm. He talks of being protected from the storm and the sensation of the riding on the train. He describes every aspect of the train from the different sounds that it makes to the different shapes and mechanics of the train.
Since Whitman is impressed with the train, he sees nothing wrong with it moving across the country.
Dickinson’s poem is light in rhythm and tempo. At first read it seems to be a light poem. Dickinson is impressed with the train’s power, but she sounds as if there is some underlying fear or negativity in her thoughts. In fact she uses words that conjure up negative emotions when describing the train. In line two she says, “And lick the valleys up,…” In line six she uses the word supercilious to describe those looking out at the train as it passes. And in line eight Dickinson talks of carving out a path for the train. In other verses she uses words like prodigious and omnipotent to describe the train’s size and power.
2.
Boanerges in Dickinson’s last stanza means “sons of thunder,” a name given by Jesus to the disciples John and James (see Mark 3:17). How far should the reader work out the particulars of this comparison? Does it make the tone of the poem serious? How?
Dickinson uses this word to represent the power behind the train. She is using it to describe how loud the train is. In Mark 3:17 Jesus is taking his disciples with him after they had been preaching to a great deal of people. Jesus called John and James
“Sons of thunder,” to describe their oratory skills.
Dickinson also uses the word omnipotent to describe the train’s power. Using the two words together gives the reader a better sense of train’s strength and impact on the land and people. Even though she states in the first line that she “likes to see it lap the miles,” Dickinson uses derogatory phrases to describe the train’s path.
Using the term, Boanerges, does make the poem more serious, but it adds to the rest of the poem. The word in and of itself does not make the poem serious. The reader should not over analyze this portion of the poem. Dickinson may have chosen to use these words due to the influence that religion had on her life at the time that she wrote, “I like to see it lap the Miles.”
3.
Are the subjects of the two poems identical? Discuss.
The subjects of the two poems are identical. Both Whitman and Dickinson are describing a train. However, Whitman appears to be riding on the train. Not only does Whitman describe the size and power of the train, but he goes into great detail

regarding the mechanics of the train. He describes the, “black cylindric body,”
“parallel and connecting rods” and “great protruding headlight…” Both authors describe the line of cars behind the engine. Dickinson talks of, “Then chase itself down hill.” And Whitman is more descriptive, “Thy train of cars behind, obedient, merrily following,…”
As far as the sound the train makes, Dickinson’s only description is, “neigh like
Boanerges.” Whitman talks of the many sounds that the train makes. The reader gets to hear the “pant and roar,” “the tremulous twinkle of thy wheels,” “thy madlywhistled laughter, echoing, rumbling like an earthquake, rousing all,…” And he talks of how the train echoes off the landscape, “Thy trills and shrieks by rock and hills return’d,…”