Grammar behind “Whatever what is is is what I want.”

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Here is the poem:




Prayer, by Galway Kinnell



Whatever happens. Whatever
what is is is what

I want. Only that. But that.




I came across this poem as an interesting example of English grammar and how it is actually possible to have three "is" in a row. Can anyone explain the poem's syntax, especially the sentence:




Whatever what is is is what I want.











share|improve this question





























    up vote
    14
    down vote

    favorite
    3












    Here is the poem:




    Prayer, by Galway Kinnell



    Whatever happens. Whatever
    what is is is what

    I want. Only that. But that.




    I came across this poem as an interesting example of English grammar and how it is actually possible to have three "is" in a row. Can anyone explain the poem's syntax, especially the sentence:




    Whatever what is is is what I want.











    share|improve this question

























      up vote
      14
      down vote

      favorite
      3









      up vote
      14
      down vote

      favorite
      3






      3





      Here is the poem:




      Prayer, by Galway Kinnell



      Whatever happens. Whatever
      what is is is what

      I want. Only that. But that.




      I came across this poem as an interesting example of English grammar and how it is actually possible to have three "is" in a row. Can anyone explain the poem's syntax, especially the sentence:




      Whatever what is is is what I want.











      share|improve this question















      Here is the poem:




      Prayer, by Galway Kinnell



      Whatever happens. Whatever
      what is is is what

      I want. Only that. But that.




      I came across this poem as an interesting example of English grammar and how it is actually possible to have three "is" in a row. Can anyone explain the poem's syntax, especially the sentence:




      Whatever what is is is what I want.








      sentence-structure syntax poetry






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited yesterday

























      asked yesterday









      Jay A. Little

      2,524216




      2,524216




















          5 Answers
          5






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          21
          down vote



          accepted











          Whatever happens. Whatever



          what is is is what



          I want. Only that. But that.




          Whatever "what is" is, is what I want.



          (Second cup of coffee to the rescue.)



          Although is appears three times in a row, it is copular only once, in is what I want.



          In "What is", is means exists.



          And the second is (Whatever what is is) means happens to be.



          Whatever that which exists happens to be is what I want.






          share|improve this answer






















          • Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
            – Flater
            21 hours ago











          • @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
            – Tᴚoɯɐuo
            17 hours ago


















          up vote
          9
          down vote













          Grammatically, this can be summed up neatly by some ungrammatical use of parentheses:




          (Whatever (what is) is) is what I want.




          Each phrase in parentheses is a noun phrase and can be substituted by any other noun, e.g.,




          (Whatever (infinity) is) is what I want.




          Another way to disambiguate is to rephrase with a demonstrative:




          (Whatever (what is) is), that is what I want.




          The author of the poem italicizes what is in the original to indicate that it should be regarded as a noun phrase. It could just as well have been quoted:




          Whatever "what is" is is what I want.




          Or to rephrase with the subject of the main clause in parentheses:




          (Whatever "what is" is) is what I want.




          Hope this helps.






          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.
























            up vote
            5
            down vote














            Whatever what is is is what I want.




            Let's replace some parts of the sentence with equivalent parts of speech




            Chicken is what I want.




            This is a rather unusual sentence structure, but it is grammatical.



            But say I didn't know what "Chicken" is. "Whatever 'chicken' is" then becomes the noun describing the item you want.




            Whatever 'chicken' is, is what I want.




            But in this case, the mystery item is not identified as 'chicken', but instead it is called 'what is'




            Whatever 'what is' is, is what I want.




            Put altogether it makes a lovely garden path sentence.






            share|improve this answer



























              up vote
              2
              down vote













              I believe this can be understood by adding some missing punctuation.




              what is, is




              This is roughly expressing the idea that things are what they are. In other words, que sera, sera or whatever will be, will be.



              What is is may also be a restatement of happens from the first line.



              So:




              Whatever happens. Whatever

              (what is, is) is what

              I want. Only that. But that.





              If this interpretation is correct, then I believe the author is trying to express that they want to have the ability to accept things as they happen.




              This is somewhat reminiscent of the Serenity Prayer (Wikipedia), which starts as follows:




              God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

              Courage to change the things I can,

              And wisdom to know the difference.







              share|improve this answer




















              • I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                – Jay A. Little
                yesterday










              • With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                – David K
                yesterday










              • @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                – Jason Bassford
                yesterday











              • "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                – David K
                yesterday










              • @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                – Jason Bassford
                yesterday


















              up vote
              2
              down vote














              Whatever what is, is is what I want.




              That sentence is not in the poem. The actual sentence, which the question quoted correctly in context, was




              Whatever
              what is is is what

              I want.




              Without the division into lines of poetry, but retaining the italics:
              "Whatever what is is is what I want."



              I believe the intended effect of putting words what is in italics in this poem is similar to the effect that could have been achieved by putting quotes around the words "what is": it allows this two-word phrase to be treated as a noun. Unlike the effect of italics or quotes in this paragraph, however,
              the noun in question is not the phrase itself, but rather is the thing described by those words.



              I might unpack the elements of that sentence in the poem as follows:



              That which exists and occurs in this universe is what is.
              Whatever that is, that is what I want.



              I hope you agree that the two words what is were a much more fitting way to express the same thing I tried to express in the first eleven words in the previous paragraph.






              share|improve this answer




















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                5 Answers
                5






                active

                oldest

                votes








                5 Answers
                5






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes








                up vote
                21
                down vote



                accepted











                Whatever happens. Whatever



                what is is is what



                I want. Only that. But that.




                Whatever "what is" is, is what I want.



                (Second cup of coffee to the rescue.)



                Although is appears three times in a row, it is copular only once, in is what I want.



                In "What is", is means exists.



                And the second is (Whatever what is is) means happens to be.



                Whatever that which exists happens to be is what I want.






                share|improve this answer






















                • Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
                  – Flater
                  21 hours ago











                • @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  17 hours ago















                up vote
                21
                down vote



                accepted











                Whatever happens. Whatever



                what is is is what



                I want. Only that. But that.




                Whatever "what is" is, is what I want.



                (Second cup of coffee to the rescue.)



                Although is appears three times in a row, it is copular only once, in is what I want.



                In "What is", is means exists.



                And the second is (Whatever what is is) means happens to be.



                Whatever that which exists happens to be is what I want.






                share|improve this answer






















                • Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
                  – Flater
                  21 hours ago











                • @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  17 hours ago













                up vote
                21
                down vote



                accepted







                up vote
                21
                down vote



                accepted







                Whatever happens. Whatever



                what is is is what



                I want. Only that. But that.




                Whatever "what is" is, is what I want.



                (Second cup of coffee to the rescue.)



                Although is appears three times in a row, it is copular only once, in is what I want.



                In "What is", is means exists.



                And the second is (Whatever what is is) means happens to be.



                Whatever that which exists happens to be is what I want.






                share|improve this answer















                Whatever happens. Whatever



                what is is is what



                I want. Only that. But that.




                Whatever "what is" is, is what I want.



                (Second cup of coffee to the rescue.)



                Although is appears three times in a row, it is copular only once, in is what I want.



                In "What is", is means exists.



                And the second is (Whatever what is is) means happens to be.



                Whatever that which exists happens to be is what I want.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited yesterday

























                answered yesterday









                Tᴚoɯɐuo

                96.5k671160




                96.5k671160











                • Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
                  – Flater
                  21 hours ago











                • @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  17 hours ago

















                • Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
                  – Flater
                  21 hours ago











                • @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  17 hours ago
















                Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
                – Flater
                21 hours ago





                Just to simplify the final translation, would it be accurately summed up as "I want things to be the way they are", or rather "I wish to own everything in existence"?
                – Flater
                21 hours ago













                @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                17 hours ago





                @Flater: Since we cannot own what "happens", surely it is the former, not "own".
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                17 hours ago













                up vote
                9
                down vote













                Grammatically, this can be summed up neatly by some ungrammatical use of parentheses:




                (Whatever (what is) is) is what I want.




                Each phrase in parentheses is a noun phrase and can be substituted by any other noun, e.g.,




                (Whatever (infinity) is) is what I want.




                Another way to disambiguate is to rephrase with a demonstrative:




                (Whatever (what is) is), that is what I want.




                The author of the poem italicizes what is in the original to indicate that it should be regarded as a noun phrase. It could just as well have been quoted:




                Whatever "what is" is is what I want.




                Or to rephrase with the subject of the main clause in parentheses:




                (Whatever "what is" is) is what I want.




                Hope this helps.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor




                Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                  up vote
                  9
                  down vote













                  Grammatically, this can be summed up neatly by some ungrammatical use of parentheses:




                  (Whatever (what is) is) is what I want.




                  Each phrase in parentheses is a noun phrase and can be substituted by any other noun, e.g.,




                  (Whatever (infinity) is) is what I want.




                  Another way to disambiguate is to rephrase with a demonstrative:




                  (Whatever (what is) is), that is what I want.




                  The author of the poem italicizes what is in the original to indicate that it should be regarded as a noun phrase. It could just as well have been quoted:




                  Whatever "what is" is is what I want.




                  Or to rephrase with the subject of the main clause in parentheses:




                  (Whatever "what is" is) is what I want.




                  Hope this helps.






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.



















                    up vote
                    9
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    9
                    down vote









                    Grammatically, this can be summed up neatly by some ungrammatical use of parentheses:




                    (Whatever (what is) is) is what I want.




                    Each phrase in parentheses is a noun phrase and can be substituted by any other noun, e.g.,




                    (Whatever (infinity) is) is what I want.




                    Another way to disambiguate is to rephrase with a demonstrative:




                    (Whatever (what is) is), that is what I want.




                    The author of the poem italicizes what is in the original to indicate that it should be regarded as a noun phrase. It could just as well have been quoted:




                    Whatever "what is" is is what I want.




                    Or to rephrase with the subject of the main clause in parentheses:




                    (Whatever "what is" is) is what I want.




                    Hope this helps.






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    Grammatically, this can be summed up neatly by some ungrammatical use of parentheses:




                    (Whatever (what is) is) is what I want.




                    Each phrase in parentheses is a noun phrase and can be substituted by any other noun, e.g.,




                    (Whatever (infinity) is) is what I want.




                    Another way to disambiguate is to rephrase with a demonstrative:




                    (Whatever (what is) is), that is what I want.




                    The author of the poem italicizes what is in the original to indicate that it should be regarded as a noun phrase. It could just as well have been quoted:




                    Whatever "what is" is is what I want.




                    Or to rephrase with the subject of the main clause in parentheses:




                    (Whatever "what is" is) is what I want.




                    Hope this helps.







                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer






                    New contributor




                    Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    answered yesterday









                    Gregory Higley

                    1912




                    1912




                    New contributor




                    Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.





                    New contributor





                    Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    Gregory Higley is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                        up vote
                        5
                        down vote














                        Whatever what is is is what I want.




                        Let's replace some parts of the sentence with equivalent parts of speech




                        Chicken is what I want.




                        This is a rather unusual sentence structure, but it is grammatical.



                        But say I didn't know what "Chicken" is. "Whatever 'chicken' is" then becomes the noun describing the item you want.




                        Whatever 'chicken' is, is what I want.




                        But in this case, the mystery item is not identified as 'chicken', but instead it is called 'what is'




                        Whatever 'what is' is, is what I want.




                        Put altogether it makes a lovely garden path sentence.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          up vote
                          5
                          down vote














                          Whatever what is is is what I want.




                          Let's replace some parts of the sentence with equivalent parts of speech




                          Chicken is what I want.




                          This is a rather unusual sentence structure, but it is grammatical.



                          But say I didn't know what "Chicken" is. "Whatever 'chicken' is" then becomes the noun describing the item you want.




                          Whatever 'chicken' is, is what I want.




                          But in this case, the mystery item is not identified as 'chicken', but instead it is called 'what is'




                          Whatever 'what is' is, is what I want.




                          Put altogether it makes a lovely garden path sentence.






                          share|improve this answer






















                            up vote
                            5
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            5
                            down vote










                            Whatever what is is is what I want.




                            Let's replace some parts of the sentence with equivalent parts of speech




                            Chicken is what I want.




                            This is a rather unusual sentence structure, but it is grammatical.



                            But say I didn't know what "Chicken" is. "Whatever 'chicken' is" then becomes the noun describing the item you want.




                            Whatever 'chicken' is, is what I want.




                            But in this case, the mystery item is not identified as 'chicken', but instead it is called 'what is'




                            Whatever 'what is' is, is what I want.




                            Put altogether it makes a lovely garden path sentence.






                            share|improve this answer













                            Whatever what is is is what I want.




                            Let's replace some parts of the sentence with equivalent parts of speech




                            Chicken is what I want.




                            This is a rather unusual sentence structure, but it is grammatical.



                            But say I didn't know what "Chicken" is. "Whatever 'chicken' is" then becomes the noun describing the item you want.




                            Whatever 'chicken' is, is what I want.




                            But in this case, the mystery item is not identified as 'chicken', but instead it is called 'what is'




                            Whatever 'what is' is, is what I want.




                            Put altogether it makes a lovely garden path sentence.







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered yesterday









                            Arcanist Lupus

                            2783




                            2783




















                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote













                                I believe this can be understood by adding some missing punctuation.




                                what is, is




                                This is roughly expressing the idea that things are what they are. In other words, que sera, sera or whatever will be, will be.



                                What is is may also be a restatement of happens from the first line.



                                So:




                                Whatever happens. Whatever

                                (what is, is) is what

                                I want. Only that. But that.





                                If this interpretation is correct, then I believe the author is trying to express that they want to have the ability to accept things as they happen.




                                This is somewhat reminiscent of the Serenity Prayer (Wikipedia), which starts as follows:




                                God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

                                Courage to change the things I can,

                                And wisdom to know the difference.







                                share|improve this answer




















                                • I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                                  – Jay A. Little
                                  yesterday










                                • With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday











                                • "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday















                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote













                                I believe this can be understood by adding some missing punctuation.




                                what is, is




                                This is roughly expressing the idea that things are what they are. In other words, que sera, sera or whatever will be, will be.



                                What is is may also be a restatement of happens from the first line.



                                So:




                                Whatever happens. Whatever

                                (what is, is) is what

                                I want. Only that. But that.





                                If this interpretation is correct, then I believe the author is trying to express that they want to have the ability to accept things as they happen.




                                This is somewhat reminiscent of the Serenity Prayer (Wikipedia), which starts as follows:




                                God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

                                Courage to change the things I can,

                                And wisdom to know the difference.







                                share|improve this answer




















                                • I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                                  – Jay A. Little
                                  yesterday










                                • With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday











                                • "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday













                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote









                                I believe this can be understood by adding some missing punctuation.




                                what is, is




                                This is roughly expressing the idea that things are what they are. In other words, que sera, sera or whatever will be, will be.



                                What is is may also be a restatement of happens from the first line.



                                So:




                                Whatever happens. Whatever

                                (what is, is) is what

                                I want. Only that. But that.





                                If this interpretation is correct, then I believe the author is trying to express that they want to have the ability to accept things as they happen.




                                This is somewhat reminiscent of the Serenity Prayer (Wikipedia), which starts as follows:




                                God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

                                Courage to change the things I can,

                                And wisdom to know the difference.







                                share|improve this answer












                                I believe this can be understood by adding some missing punctuation.




                                what is, is




                                This is roughly expressing the idea that things are what they are. In other words, que sera, sera or whatever will be, will be.



                                What is is may also be a restatement of happens from the first line.



                                So:




                                Whatever happens. Whatever

                                (what is, is) is what

                                I want. Only that. But that.





                                If this interpretation is correct, then I believe the author is trying to express that they want to have the ability to accept things as they happen.




                                This is somewhat reminiscent of the Serenity Prayer (Wikipedia), which starts as follows:




                                God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

                                Courage to change the things I can,

                                And wisdom to know the difference.








                                share|improve this answer












                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer










                                answered yesterday









                                Jason Bassford

                                9,8241929




                                9,8241929











                                • I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                                  – Jay A. Little
                                  yesterday










                                • With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday











                                • "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday

















                                • I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                                  – Jay A. Little
                                  yesterday










                                • With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday











                                • "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                                  – David K
                                  yesterday










                                • @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                                  – Jason Bassford
                                  yesterday
















                                I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                                – Jay A. Little
                                yesterday




                                I think you are right about the meaning, and thanks for the correction of punctuation. The answer is great for the semantics so I hope you don't erase it, but I'm looking for more explanation of the syntax involved.
                                – Jay A. Little
                                yesterday












                                With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                                – David K
                                yesterday




                                With the comma, set off from the rest of the sentence by the parentheses, you have made the three words into a statement that could stand on its own as a sentence: "What is, is." But whereas I usually know how to parse a phrase of the form "whatever X is," I'm at a loss as to what to make of it when X is replaced by a standalone sentence (minus the final punctuation mark) in parentheses.
                                – David K
                                yesterday












                                @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                                – Jason Bassford
                                yesterday





                                @DavidK "Whatever (happens) is what I want." "Whatever (what is, is) is what I want."
                                – Jason Bassford
                                yesterday













                                "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                                – David K
                                yesterday




                                "What is, is," is a complete sentence. "Happens" is not. I don't see those two wordings as even remotely the same. Or at least, I don't see the sentence structure as the same, although the meaning is fairly close.
                                – David K
                                yesterday












                                @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                                – Jason Bassford
                                yesterday





                                @DavidK. Yes, but "Whatever is, is." is not actually a sentence in question. That's just a sentence fragment that's part of what's being analyzed here. My use of parentheses and commas is purely explanatory. (As is the use of italics and bold text in the other answer.) I could dispense with them altogether and say that I interpret whatever what is is is what I want as being (poetically) the same as whatever happens is what I want. But without styling is is is in some fashion, it's extremely difficult to interpret the meaning.
                                – Jason Bassford
                                yesterday











                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote














                                Whatever what is, is is what I want.




                                That sentence is not in the poem. The actual sentence, which the question quoted correctly in context, was




                                Whatever
                                what is is is what

                                I want.




                                Without the division into lines of poetry, but retaining the italics:
                                "Whatever what is is is what I want."



                                I believe the intended effect of putting words what is in italics in this poem is similar to the effect that could have been achieved by putting quotes around the words "what is": it allows this two-word phrase to be treated as a noun. Unlike the effect of italics or quotes in this paragraph, however,
                                the noun in question is not the phrase itself, but rather is the thing described by those words.



                                I might unpack the elements of that sentence in the poem as follows:



                                That which exists and occurs in this universe is what is.
                                Whatever that is, that is what I want.



                                I hope you agree that the two words what is were a much more fitting way to express the same thing I tried to express in the first eleven words in the previous paragraph.






                                share|improve this answer
























                                  up vote
                                  2
                                  down vote














                                  Whatever what is, is is what I want.




                                  That sentence is not in the poem. The actual sentence, which the question quoted correctly in context, was




                                  Whatever
                                  what is is is what

                                  I want.




                                  Without the division into lines of poetry, but retaining the italics:
                                  "Whatever what is is is what I want."



                                  I believe the intended effect of putting words what is in italics in this poem is similar to the effect that could have been achieved by putting quotes around the words "what is": it allows this two-word phrase to be treated as a noun. Unlike the effect of italics or quotes in this paragraph, however,
                                  the noun in question is not the phrase itself, but rather is the thing described by those words.



                                  I might unpack the elements of that sentence in the poem as follows:



                                  That which exists and occurs in this universe is what is.
                                  Whatever that is, that is what I want.



                                  I hope you agree that the two words what is were a much more fitting way to express the same thing I tried to express in the first eleven words in the previous paragraph.






                                  share|improve this answer






















                                    up vote
                                    2
                                    down vote










                                    up vote
                                    2
                                    down vote










                                    Whatever what is, is is what I want.




                                    That sentence is not in the poem. The actual sentence, which the question quoted correctly in context, was




                                    Whatever
                                    what is is is what

                                    I want.




                                    Without the division into lines of poetry, but retaining the italics:
                                    "Whatever what is is is what I want."



                                    I believe the intended effect of putting words what is in italics in this poem is similar to the effect that could have been achieved by putting quotes around the words "what is": it allows this two-word phrase to be treated as a noun. Unlike the effect of italics or quotes in this paragraph, however,
                                    the noun in question is not the phrase itself, but rather is the thing described by those words.



                                    I might unpack the elements of that sentence in the poem as follows:



                                    That which exists and occurs in this universe is what is.
                                    Whatever that is, that is what I want.



                                    I hope you agree that the two words what is were a much more fitting way to express the same thing I tried to express in the first eleven words in the previous paragraph.






                                    share|improve this answer













                                    Whatever what is, is is what I want.




                                    That sentence is not in the poem. The actual sentence, which the question quoted correctly in context, was




                                    Whatever
                                    what is is is what

                                    I want.




                                    Without the division into lines of poetry, but retaining the italics:
                                    "Whatever what is is is what I want."



                                    I believe the intended effect of putting words what is in italics in this poem is similar to the effect that could have been achieved by putting quotes around the words "what is": it allows this two-word phrase to be treated as a noun. Unlike the effect of italics or quotes in this paragraph, however,
                                    the noun in question is not the phrase itself, but rather is the thing described by those words.



                                    I might unpack the elements of that sentence in the poem as follows:



                                    That which exists and occurs in this universe is what is.
                                    Whatever that is, that is what I want.



                                    I hope you agree that the two words what is were a much more fitting way to express the same thing I tried to express in the first eleven words in the previous paragraph.







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered yesterday









                                    David K

                                    2,714915




                                    2,714915



























                                         

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