Rebecca Harding Davis and Walt Whitman show uses of Imaginists writing all over in their works we read. First, Davis shows a use of language that is similar to common speech for example on page 2,983 "The air is thick, clammy with the breath of crowded human beings." as well she shows this throughout her entire book, escpecially when since she uses natural dialogue to tell her story. As for cliche's, Davis stays far away from using the same beliefs and story lines that everyone else uses, but instead she has a unique point of view that she incorporates into the story to not make it a cliche. As for rhythm, Davis changes her rhythm to change the tone as well, "I have not seen Hugh the day, Deb. The old many says his watch lasts till the mornin.
The women sprang up, and hastily began to arrange.." (p.2841) With this Davis has a sentence that gives off a non-chalant feeling and then the next sentence makes the tone seemed rushed. Rebecca also shows a real freedom of subject when she talks about how people are worked to death in the factories, "The hands of each mill are divided into watches that relieve each other as regularly as the sentinels of an army. By night and day the work goes on, the unsleeping engines grown and shriek, the fiery pools of metal boil and surge. Only for a day in the week, in half-courtesy to public censure, the fires are partially vieled..." (p.2842)As well in this qoute, when Davis explains the factories she uses precise and firm language that is quite detailed. The concentration of Davis' piece was set by her sad tone because it drew the constant attention to the death of Hugh. Lastly, Davis does not say things directly all the time, but more suggests things by starting her sentences with if or putting her words into the context of a question. "Of years of weary trying to please the on human being whome she loved, to gain one lok of real heart-kindness from him? IF (emphasis put in by me) anything like this were hidden beneath the pale, bleared eyes, and dull, washed out looking face, no one had ever..."(p.2,843)
As for Walt Whitman, he shows a use of common speech on page 2,983, "I stand with drooping eyes by the worstsuffereing and restless, I pass my hands soothingly to and fro a few inches from them; The restless sink in their beds...they fitfully sleep." By using easy to understand wordings, Whitman also avoids using cliches so that he remains unique. An example of this is when he says, "I am too not a bit tamed...I am untranslatable" At this time, Whitman could have said that America was as free as a bird or some funny cliche but instead he made his own words. Whitmans freedom of voice is very much used, "I have said that the soul if not more than the body, And I have said that the body is not more than the soul, And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one's-self is," By this you see that Whitman freely spoke of something that he believed was greater than God. Another example of his freedom of expression is when he says, "Do I contradict myself? Very well then...I contradict myself!" (p.2981) This shows that he was confident saying whatever he wanted. A good show of Melville using rhythm to change his tone is on page 2,987, "Warily, sportsman! though I lie so sleepu and sluggish, my tap is death.
A show of the summer softness...a contact of something unseen..." By this he goes from a more intense statement to a soft an suddle sentence. The images Melville uses is also very similar to imaginists. "My mother looked in delight and amazement at the stranger, She looked at the beauty of her tallborne face and full and plaint limbs, The more she looked upon her she loved her, Never nefore had she seen such wonderful beauty and purity;" (p.2,986) As for concentration, Melville shows his focus in a story by using a very serious and powerful tone in his work and shows great care in describing everything that he talks about, "On her back she carried a bundle of rushes for rushbottoming chairs; Her hair straight shiny coarse black and profuse halfenveloped her face," (p.2,986). At last, Melville does not dictated his readers thoughts but simply made suggestions to what they should think. "The second Sunday morning they were brought out in squads and massacred...it was beautiful early summer,
The work commenced about five o'clock and was over by eight." (p.2,966. With this he does not say that the massacre was a terribly tragedy but simply states the information, which suggests it was a bad thing.