As the self appointed poet of democracy, Whitman utilized a philosophy of national hope and unification (after the civil war his writing would focus on reunification) based on the premise of a divine individual. It is this individual who would become the archetype on which Whitman hoped to build a nation of individuals, confident of their position of divinity, knowledgeable in the cyclical nature of life’s divine order, and aware of the unified existence of the body and soul.
A Philosophy of Democracy
In adhering to this philosophy, Whitman created poetry that encompassed several literary genres. And although Leaves of Grass defies categorization, Whitman’s philosophy of democracy ties the various forms of Whitman’s writing together under one theme and can be applied to Leaves of Grass in its entirety.
Song of Myself
As part of an epic, “Song of Myself” depicts a meditation of heroic proportions. Whitman speaks of space and time with the same familiarity in which he refers to a leaf of grass. He observes the building of the nation through the actions of children, savages and boatsmen, while proclaiming the magnificence of each event. Through these observations, Whitman has not only become the all knowing and all seeing, he has furthered his philosophy of humanity’s divine interconnectivity. Understanding this connection allows Whitman to feel, see, and become those surrounding him.
Reader Response to Whitman’s Life and Poetry
Whitman’s poem “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” utilizes autobiographical aspects of Whitman’s life in the same way he utilized biographical aspects of Lincoln’s life in “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” Both pieces use poetic imagery designed to create a vision of individual life experiences that can be understood by all.
“Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking,” transports the reader into Whitman’s boyhood when he recalls his memories of “once in Paumanok, / When the lilac-scent was in the air and Fifth-month grass / was growing.” His words evoke memories associated with the familiar sights and scents of his childhood, while drawing reader recognition of the geographical region of Long Island. As a result, Whitman establishes a connection with an American readership who will identify with his vision and memories.
Poetry That Defies Categorization
In the 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass Whitman writes “the expression of the American Poet is to be transcendant and new. It is to be indirect and not direct or descriptive or epic. Its quality goes through these and much more.” Thus said, the difficulty in locating Leaves of Grass within any one genre becomes less frustrating and more understandable.
In knowingly creating such a work, Whitman ensured a wide and varied readership. Although some of his contemporaries did not recognize the full scope of his verse, current criticism and analysis regarding Leaves of Grass demonstrates Whitman’s continued universal appeal.
Literary Scholar Gay Wilson Allen discussed that although Whitman intentionally created a work defying literary classification, this work grew from a unifying thought that “the United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem” and with this philosophy of a growing democratic nation, Whitman equipped himself with the tools in which to become “a bard to commensurate with a people . . . to respond to his country’s spirit . . . [and] incarnate its geography”
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