On Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman's highly acclaimed and heavily revised Leaves of Grass was the first book to capture the American spirit and way of living. Like the paintings of the Hudson River School, Leaves of Grass was entirely native to the United States. It offered Americans a mirror to see the good in themselves, while broadcasting America's newborn culture to a world distinctly European and filled with old hierarchies and class structures. It was not only the staple piece of literature for the Transcendentalist movement, but Leaves of Grass joined a the legacy set in place by Romanticism, and the Enlightenment.

Walt Whitman was born in 1819 and like many in his generation, was largely self-taught. The young Whitman was a voracious reader and enjoyed Dante, Homer, Shakespeare and the Bible. His writing reflects his influences. Leaves of Grass was written in a loose iambic meter reminiscent of Shakespearian sonnets. His use of anaphora gave his verses an epic feel similar to that of the Bible. Whitman's ability to cycle through thousands of related scenes with little repetition gave his verse a versatility rivaling that of Homer. Despite these similarities, Whitman is widely recognized as the pioneer of the American free verse, and a cornerstone of American literature.

Leaves of Grass started out as a slim, twelve poem edition, stuffed with leaves and flowers and depicting an illustration of the boyish, laid-back author. Originally, Whitman self-published it anonymously. Early on Leaves of Grass was disregarded, but Ralph Waldo Emerson, the torch-bearer for the transcendentalist movement, praised the book. Whitman proceeded throughout his life to expand the book so that by the time of his "Deathbed" edition in 1892, Leaves of Grass contained 383 poems. His most celebrated poems include Song of Myself, I Sing the Body Electric, I Hear America Singing, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, and his tribute to President Lincoln, O Captain! My Captain! For his 36-second recording on a wax cylinder, he chose to read America.

Whitman's masterpiece does not just describe the America during his lifetime but the future of America. In spite of the close-mindedness of most of the United States at the time, Whitman was a modern man. Leaves of Grass declares his exaltation of equality, not as his compatriots saw it, but more like we see it today. He embraced women, Native Americans, and blacks as his equals. His views are surprising, yet genuine. One example of this is his anecdote concerning helping a runaway slave in Song of Myself. Whitman's America sometimes sounds like an idyllic utopia, but in the glimpses of America's dark side, Whitman showed that he knew that America was not perfect. Yet, he loved America, and uncannily prophesied the maturation of America's unique ideals. Since he saw all the good of America, it seems like he saw the potential of the American system, and was a proponent of the equality to come.

The theme of Leaves of Grass is song. Whitman takes up the mantle of a Greek muse or a medieval bard, and tells of the vibrancy found in every inch of America. Every blade (or leaf in this case) of grass has its song. Every child, woman, and man has his or her song. People of all colors have their song. Each locale and profession in America has its song. Whitman hears America singing and captures its song. He sings of life, democracy and freedom. The tone of Leaves of Grass is optimistic, since Whitman see the good in everything and everyone. Despite his idealism, the book retains its rustic feel in its descriptions of nature, and realism in its inclusion of views of death, old age, suicide, and slavery.

Another facet of Leaves of Grass is its scope. Whitman describes everything. He is not afraid to give his views on controversial topics such as slavery and the equality of women. He does not shy away form describing and glorifying sex. His candid songs of love were ahead of his time for throughout its long history Leaves of Grass has been banned for its sensuality. However, Whitman has been praised for the mysticism of his book. In describing the daily life of Americans, Whitman sings of life itself. His declarations of immortality and being connected with all things as well as his mantra of the continuity and mingling of all things evokes the philosophy of the Buddha, who in his enlightenment, proclaimed that all places, beings, and opposites in time and space were one and the same. Whitman sums up America and the universe. The impact of his song echoes into eternity.

Below is a poem inspired by Walt Whitman's Song of Myself:

SONG

I sing of life

of white sunshine

of liquid sky, blue, azure

of cotton-puff clouds

of asphalt arteries and

cars, their blood

I sing of white ribbons

of sidewalk, I sing of

newborn leaves, green,

red, violet, against blue

I sing of the open road

the subway ride, the bus ride

I sing of wood and earth

and metal, of light and

rain and balmy wind

neither hot, nor cold

I sing of myself, my flesh,

my sinews, my bones, my

skin, my soft membranes, my

body knit together by threads of

nerves and gray matter

between my ears

I sing of my lanky arms and

muscled legs, of my hands,

my broad palms, the tendons

the splayed digits

the stringy flesh wrapped

around each small bone and

knobby knuckle, I sing

of the earth beneath my feet,

my jeans, my sneakers, belt

and T-shirt, my watch,

I sing of my eyes, languid pools,

almond-shaped

I sing of books touched by these

eyes, of parchment smelling of oats

of fresh ink, of black runes and

ciphers, of knowledge and ideas

I sing of granite, marble, of our

monuments to human ingenuity

of bridges, of skyscrapers, of glass, steel

of houses of brick and wood,

of neighborhoods, of bikes, of motorcycles

of lush lawns, uncut lawns, manicured lawns

I sing of the city

I sing of the wide-open country

I sing of good food and of the vitality

of youth, the confidence of the youth

I sing of the spicy, exotic world

of places I am yet to see

I sing of love.

I sing of this morning, this

afternoon, of starry night

I sing of you gone before, of

you unborn, of you right

beside me, I sing of light

and time and space, of the universe

of black holes, of the entirety

of life stretching from now into

forever, I sing bright, and long

and beyond my body and soul, strong and

forevermore

BMR

06/01/08