Global Posts Rotating Header Image

September 16th, 2009:

Jillian for 9/17

Sep 16th, 2009
by jillians.
Comments are off for this post

My image gloss is taken from page 45.  I chose a set of lines that both spoke to me and included a word I wasn’t entirely familiar with in the selection.

I picked my image gloss not just because I wanted to know what ‘mica’ was, but also because I really loved the passage.  After looking up the definition of mica (it says the definition is familiar, and I may have learned about this in my freshman Geo-Science class [apologies to my teacher Mr. Waters], but yeah…I had to look it up.) I felt further connected to my selected piece. 

Whitman begins by asking, “Do you guess I have some intricate purpose?” and then using the mica to a rock for his example illustrates the idea that everything and everyone has a purpose.  Besides Geologists, I would suspect (even if they know the definition) most people don’t know the purpose of mica to a rock, but that doesn’t mean the purpose doesn’t exist.  Likewise, while we may not know what something or someones purpose in our own lives, everything and everyone does have its place.  Generally, within time, we realize this importance.  I think Whitman makes comparisons to nature to help himself (and his reader) personalize the ideas.     

In addition to the first two lines, I also love the last line.  Whitman perfectly juxtaposed the last line as two contrasting thoughts within one thought, “I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.”  By telling “just us” in his published book, he is telling everyone; however he write this in such a way that makes the reader feel as though they really are the only one whom he writes to in confidence. 

In all my years as an English major, I have had very little opportunity to study Whitman and I know very little about his work.  So far, I am really intrigued.  It is clear that Whitman does not care about conventional thought or what people think of his writing.  I respect that he writes openlyand freely, but most importantly, I appreciate that he writes  for himself.  I often had thought to myself, “Why are we reading this?” when it comes to certain material, but with Whitman I get it.  He is relatable still to readers and I am looking forward to feeling more connected to his work through readings and the community blogging.   After all, everything has an intricate purpose, right?

Jillian for 9/17

Sep 16th, 2009
by jillians.
Comments are off for this post

My image gloss is taken from page 45.  I chose a set of lines that both spoke to me and included a word I wasn’t entirely familiar with in the selection.

I picked my image gloss not just because I wanted to know what ‘mica’ was, but also because I really loved the passage.  After looking up the definition of mica (it says the definition is familiar, and I may have learned about this in my freshman Geo-Science class [apologies to my teacher Mr. Waters], but yeah…I had to look it up.) I felt further connected to my selected piece. 

Whitman begins by asking, “Do you guess I have some intricate purpose?” and then using the mica to a rock for his example illustrates the idea that everything and everyone has a purpose.  Besides Geologists, I would suspect (even if they know the definition) most people don’t know the purpose of mica to a rock, but that doesn’t mean the purpose doesn’t exist.  Likewise, while we may not know what something or someones purpose in our own lives, everything and everyone does have its place.  Generally, within time, we realize this importance.  I think Whitman makes comparisons to nature to help himself (and his reader) personalize the ideas.     

In addition to the first two lines, I also love the last line.  Whitman perfectly juxtaposed the last line as two contrasting thoughts within one thought, “I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.”  By telling “just us” in his published book, he is telling everyone; however he write this in such a way that makes the reader feel as though they really are the only one whom he writes to in confidence. 

In all my years as an English major, I have had very little opportunity to study Whitman and I know very little about his work.  So far, I am really intrigued.  It is clear that Whitman does not care about conventional thought or what people think of his writing.  I respect that he writes openlyand freely, but most importantly, I appreciate that he writes  for himself.  I often had thought to myself, “Why are we reading this?” when it comes to certain material, but with Whitman I get it.  He is relatable still to readers and I am looking forward to feeling more connected to his work through readings and the community blogging.   After all, everything has an intricate purpose, right?

Image Gloss: Embouchure

Sep 16th, 2009
by emilym.
Comments are off for this post

I sound triumphal drums for the dead….I fling through

my embouchures the loudest and gayest music to them (368).

In this line, Whitman uses a word I am unfamiliar with—embouchures.
By using context clues, I figured out that it must have something to do with music because almost every word in the line refers to music in some way.  As I read Whitman, or anyone else who uses an unfamiliar word, I go straight to the OED.  The following is the definitions taken directly from the OED:

1. The mouth of a river or creek. Also transf. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

1792 Fortn. Ramble xvi. 114 We reached the embouchure of the fall. 1812Examiner 14 Sept. 580/2 Near to the embouchier of Berezina. 1830 LYELL Princ. Geol. I. 238 The city Foah..so late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, was on this embouchure. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. II. i. 71 Huge cones of white clay and sand..guarding the embouchure of the valleys. 1868 G. DUFF Pol. Surv. 100It lies..at the embouchure of several rivers.

2. Music. ‘The part of a musical instrument applied to the mouth’ (Grove).

1834 M. SOMERVILLE Connex. Phys. S. xvii. (1849) 169 The embouchure of a flute. 1873 W. LEES Acoustics I. iii. 27 The air..is made to play upon the thin edge of the pipe at the embouchure C.

3. Music. ‘The disposition of the lips, tongue and other organs necessary for producing a musical tone’ (Grove).

1760 GOLDSM. Cit. W. xc, You see..I have got the ambusheer already [on the German flute]. 1879 GROVE Dict. Mus. I. 536 The second octave is produced by a stronger pressure of wind and an alteration of embouchure.


The first definition of the word has nothing to do with music, and did nothing to illuminate the line because it doesn’t fit any of the context clues—and makes no sense in the line.  The second and third definitions, however, are perfect for the line, making the line much clearer—“By blowing through a musical instrument, or whistling, I am going to create loud and happy music.”  If we extend this line to the others in the stanza, we get a musical send off for the dead, triumphant music in spite of their failings.

Here is a picture of someone using an embouchure to create music—“the loudest and gayest” perhaps:

Trumpet_embouchure

Image Gloss: Embouchure

Sep 16th, 2009
by emilym.
Comments are off for this post

I sound triumphal drums for the dead….I fling through

my embouchures the loudest and gayest music to them (368).

In this line, Whitman uses a word I am unfamiliar with—embouchures.
By using context clues, I figured out that it must have something to do with music because almost every word in the line refers to music in some way.  As I read Whitman, or anyone else who uses an unfamiliar word, I go straight to the OED.  The following is the definitions taken directly from the OED:

1. The mouth of a river or creek. Also transf. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

1792 Fortn. Ramble xvi. 114 We reached the embouchure of the fall. 1812Examiner 14 Sept. 580/2 Near to the embouchier of Berezina. 1830 LYELL Princ. Geol. I. 238 The city Foah..so late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, was on this embouchure. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. II. i. 71 Huge cones of white clay and sand..guarding the embouchure of the valleys. 1868 G. DUFF Pol. Surv. 100It lies..at the embouchure of several rivers.

2. Music. ‘The part of a musical instrument applied to the mouth’ (Grove).

1834 M. SOMERVILLE Connex. Phys. S. xvii. (1849) 169 The embouchure of a flute. 1873 W. LEES Acoustics I. iii. 27 The air..is made to play upon the thin edge of the pipe at the embouchure C.

3. Music. ‘The disposition of the lips, tongue and other organs necessary for producing a musical tone’ (Grove).

1760 GOLDSM. Cit. W. xc, You see..I have got the ambusheer already [on the German flute]. 1879 GROVE Dict. Mus. I. 536 The second octave is produced by a stronger pressure of wind and an alteration of embouchure.


The first definition of the word has nothing to do with music, and did nothing to illuminate the line because it doesn’t fit any of the context clues—and makes no sense in the line.  The second and third definitions, however, are perfect for the line, making the line much clearer—“By blowing through a musical instrument, or whistling, I am going to create loud and happy music.”  If we extend this line to the others in the stanza, we get a musical send off for the dead, triumphant music in spite of their failings.

Here is a picture of someone using an embouchure to create music—“the loudest and gayest” perhaps:

Trumpet_embouchure

Image Gloss: Embouchure

Sep 16th, 2009
by emilym.
Comments are off for this post

I sound triumphal drums for the dead….I fling through

my embouchures the loudest and gayest music to them (368).

In this line, Whitman uses a word I am unfamiliar with—embouchures.
By using context clues, I figured out that it must have something to do with music because almost every word in the line refers to music in some way.  As I read Whitman, or anyone else who uses an unfamiliar word, I go straight to the OED.  The following is the definitions taken directly from the OED:

1. The mouth of a river or creek. Also transf. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

1792 Fortn. Ramble xvi. 114 We reached the embouchure of the fall. 1812Examiner 14 Sept. 580/2 Near to the embouchier of Berezina. 1830 LYELL Princ. Geol. I. 238 The city Foah..so late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, was on this embouchure. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. II. i. 71 Huge cones of white clay and sand..guarding the embouchure of the valleys. 1868 G. DUFF Pol. Surv. 100It lies..at the embouchure of several rivers.

2. Music. ‘The part of a musical instrument applied to the mouth’ (Grove).

1834 M. SOMERVILLE Connex. Phys. S. xvii. (1849) 169 The embouchure of a flute. 1873 W. LEES Acoustics I. iii. 27 The air..is made to play upon the thin edge of the pipe at the embouchure C.

3. Music. ‘The disposition of the lips, tongue and other organs necessary for producing a musical tone’ (Grove).

1760 GOLDSM. Cit. W. xc, You see..I have got the ambusheer already [on the German flute]. 1879 GROVE Dict. Mus. I. 536 The second octave is produced by a stronger pressure of wind and an alteration of embouchure.


The first definition of the word has nothing to do with music, and did nothing to illuminate the line because it doesn’t fit any of the context clues—and makes no sense in the line.  The second and third definitions, however, are perfect for the line, making the line much clearer—“By blowing through a musical instrument, or whistling, I am going to create loud and happy music.”  If we extend this line to the others in the stanza, we get a musical send off for the dead, triumphant music in spite of their failings.

Here is a picture of someone using an embouchure to create music—“the loudest and gayest” perhaps:

Trumpet_embouchure

Image Gloss: Embouchure

Sep 16th, 2009
by emilym.
Comments are off for this post

I sound triumphal drums for the dead….I fling through

my embouchures the loudest and gayest music to them (368).

In this line, Whitman uses a word I am unfamiliar with—embouchures.
By using context clues, I figured out that it must have something to do with music because almost every word in the line refers to music in some way.  As I read Whitman, or anyone else who uses an unfamiliar word, I go straight to the OED.  The following is the definitions taken directly from the OED:

1. The mouth of a river or creek. Also transf. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

1792 Fortn. Ramble xvi. 114 We reached the embouchure of the fall. 1812Examiner 14 Sept. 580/2 Near to the embouchier of Berezina. 1830 LYELL Princ. Geol. I. 238 The city Foah..so late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, was on this embouchure. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. II. i. 71 Huge cones of white clay and sand..guarding the embouchure of the valleys. 1868 G. DUFF Pol. Surv. 100It lies..at the embouchure of several rivers.

2. Music. ‘The part of a musical instrument applied to the mouth’ (Grove).

1834 M. SOMERVILLE Connex. Phys. S. xvii. (1849) 169 The embouchure of a flute. 1873 W. LEES Acoustics I. iii. 27 The air..is made to play upon the thin edge of the pipe at the embouchure C.

3. Music. ‘The disposition of the lips, tongue and other organs necessary for producing a musical tone’ (Grove).

1760 GOLDSM. Cit. W. xc, You see..I have got the ambusheer already [on the German flute]. 1879 GROVE Dict. Mus. I. 536 The second octave is produced by a stronger pressure of wind and an alteration of embouchure.


The first definition of the word has nothing to do with music, and did nothing to illuminate the line because it doesn’t fit any of the context clues—and makes no sense in the line.  The second and third definitions, however, are perfect for the line, making the line much clearer—“By blowing through a musical instrument, or whistling, I am going to create loud and happy music.”  If we extend this line to the others in the stanza, we get a musical send off for the dead, triumphant music in spite of their failings.

Here is a picture of someone using an embouchure to create music—“the loudest and gayest” perhaps:

Trumpet_embouchure

Image Gloss: Embouchure

Sep 16th, 2009
by emilym.
Comments are off for this post

I sound triumphal drums for the dead….I fling through

my embouchures the loudest and gayest music to them (368).

In this line, Whitman uses a word I am unfamiliar with—embouchures.
By using context clues, I figured out that it must have something to do with music because almost every word in the line refers to music in some way.  As I read Whitman, or anyone else who uses an unfamiliar word, I go straight to the OED.  The following is the definitions taken directly from the OED:

1. The mouth of a river or creek. Also transf. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

1792 Fortn. Ramble xvi. 114 We reached the embouchure of the fall. 1812Examiner 14 Sept. 580/2 Near to the embouchier of Berezina. 1830 LYELL Princ. Geol. I. 238 The city Foah..so late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, was on this embouchure. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. II. i. 71 Huge cones of white clay and sand..guarding the embouchure of the valleys. 1868 G. DUFF Pol. Surv. 100It lies..at the embouchure of several rivers.

2. Music. ‘The part of a musical instrument applied to the mouth’ (Grove).

1834 M. SOMERVILLE Connex. Phys. S. xvii. (1849) 169 The embouchure of a flute. 1873 W. LEES Acoustics I. iii. 27 The air..is made to play upon the thin edge of the pipe at the embouchure C.

3. Music. ‘The disposition of the lips, tongue and other organs necessary for producing a musical tone’ (Grove).

1760 GOLDSM. Cit. W. xc, You see..I have got the ambusheer already [on the German flute]. 1879 GROVE Dict. Mus. I. 536 The second octave is produced by a stronger pressure of wind and an alteration of embouchure.


The first definition of the word has nothing to do with music, and did nothing to illuminate the line because it doesn’t fit any of the context clues—and makes no sense in the line.  The second and third definitions, however, are perfect for the line, making the line much clearer—“By blowing through a musical instrument, or whistling, I am going to create loud and happy music.”  If we extend this line to the others in the stanza, we get a musical send off for the dead, triumphant music in spite of their failings.

Here is a picture of someone using an embouchure to create music—“the loudest and gayest” perhaps:

Trumpet_embouchure

Image Gloss: Embouchure

Sep 16th, 2009
by emilym.
Comments are off for this post

I sound triumphal drums for the dead….I fling through

my embouchures the loudest and gayest music to them (368).

In this line, Whitman uses a word I am unfamiliar with—embouchures.
By using context clues, I figured out that it must have something to do with music because almost every word in the line refers to music in some way.  As I read Whitman, or anyone else who uses an unfamiliar word, I go straight to the OED.  The following is the definitions taken directly from the OED:

1. The mouth of a river or creek. Also transf. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

1792 Fortn. Ramble xvi. 114 We reached the embouchure of the fall. 1812Examiner 14 Sept. 580/2 Near to the embouchier of Berezina. 1830 LYELL Princ. Geol. I. 238 The city Foah..so late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, was on this embouchure. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. II. i. 71 Huge cones of white clay and sand..guarding the embouchure of the valleys. 1868 G. DUFF Pol. Surv. 100It lies..at the embouchure of several rivers.

2. Music. ‘The part of a musical instrument applied to the mouth’ (Grove).

1834 M. SOMERVILLE Connex. Phys. S. xvii. (1849) 169 The embouchure of a flute. 1873 W. LEES Acoustics I. iii. 27 The air..is made to play upon the thin edge of the pipe at the embouchure C.

3. Music. ‘The disposition of the lips, tongue and other organs necessary for producing a musical tone’ (Grove).

1760 GOLDSM. Cit. W. xc, You see..I have got the ambusheer already [on the German flute]. 1879 GROVE Dict. Mus. I. 536 The second octave is produced by a stronger pressure of wind and an alteration of embouchure.


The first definition of the word has nothing to do with music, and did nothing to illuminate the line because it doesn’t fit any of the context clues—and makes no sense in the line.  The second and third definitions, however, are perfect for the line, making the line much clearer—“By blowing through a musical instrument, or whistling, I am going to create loud and happy music.”  If we extend this line to the others in the stanza, we get a musical send off for the dead, triumphant music in spite of their failings.

Here is a picture of someone using an embouchure to create music—“the loudest and gayest” perhaps:

Trumpet_embouchure

Serpent Drum Reference Image Gloss

Sep 16th, 2009
by techwhit.
Comments are off for this post

teocallis

Walt Whitman was well read, despite the fact he didn’t recieve any formal education beyond his youth. He had knowledge of medicine and religion among other things. I selected this because I didn’t understand the context.

Walking the teokallis, spotted with gore from the stone and knife-beating the serpent skin drum;

Teocallis is another word for Aztec temple.   (p80)

If the word is broken down then it’s [Nahuatl : tetl, god + calli, house.]

I didn’t understand the reference to the serpent-skin drum so I did a quick look up on Aztec culture and found information regarding the creation myth of the Aztecs. From that myth, the relevant portion is as follows:

Quetzalcoatl was one of the four gods created by  the great god Ometeotl.  Quetzalcoatl ricked the god of the underworld (Mictlantechutli) to bring back the bones of the dead into the rela world.  Quetzalcoatl gave his blood to the bones to create new life. In gratitude, people were sacraficed in the name of Quetzalcoatl (serpent skin beast).

Quetzalcoatl_web900t

Serpent Drum Reference Image Gloss

Sep 16th, 2009
by techwhit.
Comments are off for this post

teocallis

Walt Whitman was well read, despite the fact he didn’t recieve any formal education beyond his youth. He had knowledge of medicine and religion among other things. I selected this because I didn’t understand the context.

Walking the teokallis, spotted with gore from the stone and knife-beating the serpent skin drum;

Teocallis is another word for Aztec temple.   (p80)

If the word is broken down then it’s [Nahuatl : tetl, god + calli, house.]

I didn’t understand the reference to the serpent-skin drum so I did a quick look up on Aztec culture and found information regarding the creation myth of the Aztecs. From that myth, the relevant portion is as follows:

Quetzalcoatl was one of the four gods created by  the great god Ometeotl.  Quetzalcoatl ricked the god of the underworld (Mictlantechutli) to bring back the bones of the dead into the rela world.  Quetzalcoatl gave his blood to the bones to create new life. In gratitude, people were sacraficed in the name of Quetzalcoatl (serpent skin beast).

Quetzalcoatl_web900t

← Earlier Posts
Skip to toolbar