The title metaphorically refers to a time outside the present, but part of the persona's "circle". ... In the midst of this landscape is the European "old cottage" surrounded by imported species of trees "willow", "medlar" "crabapple" which casts a destructive presence over the native vegetation by choking the creek which is "leaf-silenced". In one stanza we therefore see the struggle of the native landscape to assert its presence against intrusive English imports. ... The juxtaposition suggested in the title of the "flame t...

• Word Count: 1047
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The title is the first element showing how grass is a fundamental symbol in Whitman's poetry: 'leaves' refers both to leaves of plants and leaves of paper, thus, to each of his own poems, which sprout forming a whole, green and luxuriant. ... In fact, the title highlights his love for individuals: each leaf of grass possesses its own distinct beauty, and together the blades form a beautiful unified whole, a Whitman's theme explored in the sixth section of "Song of Myself", in which he again "works to downplay expectations about authorial mastery"(Larso...

• Word Count: 2619
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate