1. A Child Said, What is Grass?
Taylor Wichtendahl & Karly Korbe
AP English 11 1B

2. Pre-Research: Characteristics of Transcendentalism
The idea of transcendentalism to become self- reliant and self- assured. The following ideas are used to achieve this
To follow ones intuition rather than logic
To break from tradition and customs to follow ones own path
To lack the necessity of material goods
To become dignified through manual labor

3. Poem A Child Asked, What is Grass? By Walt Whitman
Click on the picture to read the poem.

4. TPCASTT
Title Before Reading: The title implies that the person will be inspecting the meanings of a child’s question and the answers to it
Paraphrase: A man attempts to answer the question of a young boy when he’s unsure how to answer when he himself doesn’t know the question.
Connotation/ Figurative Language: parallel Structure
Or,or,or-it,it,it-and,and,and used to create rhythm
Attitude: A very Inquisitive attitude as the poem is of never ending questions without direct answers
Shift: “And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves”- shifts from wondering of grass to describing and talking of grass ( uses vignettes)
Title After Reading: The title shows the innocence of a child and how the adult is no longer innocent.
Theme: When you die you are one with nature and return to the innocence of a child you once had.

5. Transcendental Characteristics
When you die you are one with nature and equal. He refers to grass as universal to living and dead and “beautiful uncut hair” of grass and to be dead is to be lucky because one would be with the grass and therefore one with nature
We are all comprised of the same innocence and origins
A child is the epitome of innocence

6. Make the Connection
Even though we are all different and expanding with each generation, especially in this day and age, we all began from the same roots and same innocence.