Appreciation of the Poem 'Animals' — Walt Whitman

Title & Poet: 'Animals' by Walt Whitman (from Leaves of Grass). Central Idea: The poet admires animals for their contentment, simplicity, and lack of the anxieties, greed, and hypocrisy that plague human beings. He wishes he could live with them. Theme: Criticism of human civilisation's discontentment, greed, and religious anxiety; admiration for animals' natural peace and simplicity; the idea that animals retain virtues humans have lost. Figures of Speech: 1. Anaphora — 'Not one is dissatisfied... Not one is demented... Not one kneels' — repeated 'Not one' creates emphasis and rhythm. 2. Contrast — Between animals (placid, content, honest) and humans (anxious, greedy, hypocritical). 3. Irony — Animals are shown to be more 'civilised' (in the best sense) than civilised humans. 4. Imagery — 'Lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins'; 'tokens they have lost.' 5. Symbolism — Animals symbolise lost innocence and natural virtue. Tone: Contemplative, admiring, mildly satirical of human society. Rhyme Scheme: Free verse — no regular rhyme scheme, reflecting Whitman's style. Message: Animals possess virtues — contentment, simplicity, non-possessiveness — that humans have lost in the process of becoming 'civilised.' The poem is an invitation to reflect on what progress has cost us.

The central idea is that animals are superior to humans in their simplicity, contentment, and freedom from anxiety. Animals do not worry about God, sin, or wealth. They do not lie awake crying, do not have mania for owning things, and do not bow to each other as humans do. The poem argues that animals still possess natural virtues — tokens of goodness — that humans once had but have lost through civilisation.

The poet admires that animals: 1. Are placid and self-contained — calm and at peace with themselves. 2. Do not whine or complain about their condition. 3. Do not lie awake weeping about their sins. 4. Do not discuss God or their duty to Him obsessively. 5. Are not dissatisfied with their lives. 6. Do not have mania for owning things (no greed). 7. Do not kneel to other animals or to humans. In short, they are free from all the anxieties, guilt, and greed that characterise human beings.

'Tokens' are signs or symbols of virtue. The poet suggests that animals still possess the natural virtues — contentment, honesty, non-possessiveness, simplicity — that humans once had in their early, simpler state. Humans have 'lost' these tokens in the course of civilisation. Animals 'bring them back' — they remind the poet of what was once natural and good. This is the poem's most philosophical idea: animals are not backward; in some important ways, they are ahead of us.

The tone is contemplative, admiring, and gently satirical. The poet does not express anger or bitterness — he simply observes, in a matter-of-fact way, that animals are free from all the anxieties that trouble humans. There is mild irony: civilised humans turn out to be less content and less honest than animals. The tone is also nostalgic — there is a sense of loss for the natural virtues humans have left behind.