Analyzing the Text
He uses “untranslatable” to reference the speaker’s voice, in other words, this poem. He then uses “barbaric yawp” to suggest that that is what the speaker’s message sounds like, untranslated. It suggests that Whitman understands his poetry is different from other poetry.
This section (4-8) is full of movement words, “holds” (4), “flings” (5), “coaxes” (6), “depart” and “shake” (7), “effuse” and “drift” (8). Furthermore, the line arrangements suggest transformation, or movement from one thing into another (like in line 6). The sense of movement creates vitality as the passage is full of energy.