Imagery and metaphors

There are several ways in which the poem “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman is enhanced through the use of stylistic devices. 

Anaphora

As we have already mentioned, anaphora is employed at the beginning of some lines of the poem:

“The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, 
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck,” (ll. 3-6) 

Auditory imagery

The entire poem is filled with auditory imagery. Everyone in the poem is singing: “The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,” (ll. 7-8)

Alliteration

Alliteration is employed when an initial consonant sound is repeated. In “I Hear America Singin...