Mannahatta By Walt Whitman

Summary: Mannahatta By Walt Whitman is where the narrator of the poem describes Manhattan.

Section One:

• Looking for something that would be specific to the city the narrator finds the original name
• The narrator says original name of the city is describes it very well

Section Two:

• The city is an island 16 miles long, surround by ships
• The streets are crowded and there are tall buildings
• There are tides that come near sundown, lots of flowing currents around the islands

Section Three:

• The narrator sees all the different people; merchants money-brokers, ship-merchants, immigrants
• There are carts, horses with men on them
• The Weather is discussed; sun is bright in the summer, and the clouds are high in the sky floating by; in the winter there is snow and broken ice on the river, with sleigh-bells

Section Four:

• The people with skills look you straight in the eyes
• There are a lot of people on the sidewalks
• All the people are friendly, with good manners and hospitality

Other Notes:

• Mannahatta means hill island
• The narrator thinks the name is good for the city because it has the literal meaning of an island but also because the people, and buildings make for a sort of tide and islands; the people would be the flow of the tide

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