Biography: Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in West Hills, New York. Whitman grew up in a tough situation, having to begin working at an early age. He experienced the harsh realities of life very early on. In many ways became the writer and poet he was because of what he experienced early on in his life. Although his father was alcoholic and had an overall negative view on life, he was so patriotic that he went as far as naming three of his sons after former U.S. presidents. Walt Whitman spent time as a school teacher, and a newspaper editor for several different newspaper but eventually settled on being a writer and poet. Driven by his love for his country, and interest in issues such as the abolishment of slavery at the time, Walt Whitman became a significant part of American literature. Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892.
Poem: A Song Whitman talks about creating a society that doesn’t have the evils American society did during his lifetime. The poem is about a society built through love and companionship. Not only does the author say that the society is created through compassion, it is said to have been created with companionship as thick as trees along the rivers of America. Having been written during the Civil War time period, one can infer that Whitman is writing about his vision for America in the future. The poem ends with the mentioning of democracy, and with the author referring to it as “ma femme” which can be translated from French as “my wife”.
Analysis: In his poem Whitman compares the amount of companionship as thick as trees along the rivers of America, because at the time, anybody living in the United States would’ve understood the metaphor. Whitman used a metaphor like this one to make it clear to readers the amount of companionship present in his vision for a society because at the time the country was very divided. This poem was written around the Civil War, so division among Americans was still very prevalent, especially when it came to issues such as slavery. Poems like this illustrate the desire in Americans at the time to seek unity despite recovering from a war that had recently caused division throughout the country.
Connection to Romanticism: This literary period was marked by the interest in the common man, strong senses of emotions and feelings, and the importance of imagination. Whitman’s poem has all of these characteristics because it talks about his personal vision for a country built upon love, and good moral values.
Study Questions: 1. What analogies does the poet use to describe the amount of love and companionship that is present in his vision for a society? 2. What are some ways that this poem is reminiscent of the romanticism literary period? 3. What does the poem having been written during the Civil War time period have to do with the content of the poem? 4. Do you believe that the author is explaining his vision for America? Why or why not? 5. The poem talks about a society built through love and companionship. Is this possible in a real life setting? Why or why not?
Possible Answers to Questions: 1. He compares the amount of love and companionship to the thickness of trees along rivers. 2. There is a very strong sense of feelings and emotions in the poem. 3. There was a lack of unity among Americans, and this poem is about a society that has an abundance of unity. 4.Yes, because when the time period is taken into consideration, it is very reasonable to assume that this poem is about the author’s personal vision for America. 5. This is not possible, because there will always be conflict between humans and a society cannot be built entirely off of companionship and love such as described in the poem.