Patrolling Barnegat - Walt Whitman

This poem is an unusual sonnet (14 lines) written with an AA rhyme scheme throughout.



The poem is set on a beach on a stormy, wintry night. Someone, presumably the poet, is walking alone along the beach through driving snow, looking out to sea across the wild waves. Through the dark, snow and spray he is not quite sure what he sees - possibly a shipwreck, and a distress signal - then what seems to be a group of walkers, braving the storm. There is a real sense of danger and fear.

- GCSE BITESIZE

Whitman could be saying that "love is like walking along a snowy beach": beaches are usually places of fun and relaxation, but now this one is described as a haunting place which is difficult to walk along.

Use this poem to compare with other poems about danger (Storm on the Island etc) and other poem about nature (Sonnet, Death of a Naturalist, The Field Mouse).

Hope this helps.