Whitman still has to be careful about who he gives his "bouquets" to, as it is still dangerous to out yourself in a homophobic society (these plants create somewhat of a rainbow, and as a 21-st century reader, I interpret this as like a gay flag which is pretty progressive). I really like this arrangement he makes is full of sweet, radiant flowers to demonstrate hope for what can bloom in the future.

After reading the poem several times, I shifted the literal reading that Whitman is wandering through an actual graveyard to a more analytical reading where the old stones represent an old society. The traditional ways of thinking metaphorically written in stone that are fenced in are being covered up by beautiful flowers and vines and will soon be abandoned/forgotten.

The lilac flower is a strong element in many of Walt Whitman's poems. He uses it to express a "token" of blooming friendships, and I think it is really interesting these are put in a bouquet with laurel leaves which are usually used to honor someone and commemorate lives who haven't gotten the chance to live. Other referrals to lilac and oak

I think Whitman here comes across a graveyard. Evidence for these is the "old stones" covered by "wild-flowers and vines" which I think represent tombstones surrounded by fences. This is especially true once Whitman gets enveloped by ghosts and "spirits". Whoever has been buried are starting to get forgotten as weeds are starting to "partly cover them". In the context of collecting "for loves", I get the impression he may be mourning a love.

Whitman here puts his type of love, that of homosexuality, in the context of something natural, like the seasons. In particular, spring is lush, new, and promotes growth. However, this love, although joyous, is coupled with "sorrow" and Whitman above knows what is it like to experience this because he has always felt "alone" and "solitary"

Whitman takes friendship to another level by including the "Calamus-root." This plant would be at a most phallic bloom during spring, and when put into conversation with comrades, he unifies this poem with the Calamus book of poems and the overarching theme of sexual desire. He hopes "youths" would take up this symbol and leave a legacy behind that being gay is ok.

Whitman makes his homosexual desire or "adhesiveness" very evident here. Many readers consider this a hint to his relationship with Peter Doyle with the whole Calamus publication an ode to the letters they wrote each other. It must have taken a lot of courage for Whitman to make such suggestions about himself.

Sydney Smith was a philanthropist who lived in the late 1700s, mid-1800s. He is described as being a kind and passionate man who strove for religious tolerance and supported liberal opinions. It is interesting to understand what Douglass might have been reading at the time he wrote this speech and how it influenced his ideas.

By now it seems evident to the "intruder" is a metaphor for the plague. Everything that surrounds him dies and the clock is just a counting down to death until the flames of life are literally extinguished.

although at first these pauses seemed to interrupt my reading, I can see how variable the grammar of sentences is with the simple change of punctuation that can determine the tone or speed at with they are read

After reading this story with the annotations I can certainly understand why these notations are important in making the text as assessable as possible for all readers because you are not limited to one person's understanding of how a line should be read

it is interesting that there aren't any comments pertaining to the descriptions of the apartments- as if the readers are left to their imagination and each version doesn't have to correspond perfectly to each other

already you can expect this story to have some obscure elements if the main character is described early on as having such curious taste

Poe seems to be really provoke the sense to introduce fear, like the unusual screaming sounds and feeling teh gust of wind

This is very reminiscent of the tell-tale heart- the house itself is reflecting the unnatural and resisting the evil

There is definitely a sense of mystery here, as the narrator is keeping certain information unavailable to the readers.

This character, Roderick Usher, seems to reflect the house- decaying, deteriorating body, empty

Interesting that the narrator isn't too much concerned with the people living in the house, but the physical structure itself.

Poe seems to be obsessed with these ideas of the tree trunks and windows since it's repeated twice in this paragraph, as if he is trying to personify them and bring them to life as their own characters.

The use of this personal pronoun really invites the readers into the story. We are not just seeing what the narrator is seeing, but also experiencing that dreary atmosphere as well.