Animals —by Walt Whitman (Poetry) | CBSE Class 10 by Arihant

Stanzawise Explanations

Stanza 1

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contain’d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

Word Meanings

• Placid : quiet, calm; 
• Self-contain’d : – in full control of self

Explanation

In these lines, the poet says that he wants to turn into an animal and live with them. According to the poet the animalsare calm, peaceful and self contended. They never complain aboutany problem. Due to these qualities of animals, the poet stands and looks at them for a very long time.

Stanza 2

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.

Word Meanings

• Sweat and whine – to complain/cry; 
• Sins – misdeeds

Explanation

In these lines, the poet says that animals do not complain and cry about their condition like humans do. Unlike humans, animals do not stay awake in the night and weep for their sins. Further, he says that animals do not make him feel sick by discussing their duties to God.

Stanza 3

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

Word Meanings

• Demented – affected with madness; 
• Mania – obsession; 
• Owning –possessing; Kneels – bends (as a sign of respect)

Explanation

In these lines, the poet says that he does not find any animal that may appear to be dissatisfied. There is not single animal who suffers from the obsession of possessing more and more things. Animals do not show respect or bow their heads to other animals or to their ancestors like humans do. According to the poet, all animals are equal. So for the animals no one is more respectable or unhappy on the earth.

Stanza 4

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them plainly in their possession I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

Word Meanings

• Tokens – innate qualities;
• Evince – to show a particular feeling, quality or attitude; Possession – ownership

Explanation

In these lines, the poet says that the animals show their similarities to him which he accepts happily. He feels that animals represent human beings in some way. They seem to have innate qualities, that humans once had, i.e. virtues like kindness, self-containment and innocence. Animals remind the poet of these qualities that symbolise the lost values of the humans. The poet wonders about how animals had got these qualities. The poet believes that the humans carelessly dropped these virtues a long time ago and have forgotten all about them in their madness to possess more things.

Reference – @Arihant