5 CONCLUSION (Part 14)

“A Song of the Rolling Earth” is about nature, the earth, the Word, as it is in the Bible, for example, in The Gospel according to John, 1:1, The Word Made Flesh: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word made Flesh is the Word that creates, the Word that becomes solid matter. This is what Whitman sings in this poem, that the real words are the bodies and souls of humanity, as we can see in this passage from part 1 of this song:

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WHITMAN:

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5 CONCLUSION (Part 13)

“A Song for Occupations” is a great pronouncement by Whitman in relation to labor, equality and politics, since it balances all society, asserting that no one is above or below any one else. Besides, he sings that everything springs from the people, politics, religion, democracy, laws, Constitution, and that everything must be done for the people and not the other way around, as is thought until today in Brazil, for example. The following excerpt incites the reader to understand this issue (in this case, the substance is more important than the form):

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5 CONCLUSION (Part 12)

The next poem to be quoted is “Song of the Redwood-Tree”, which is about the giant trees of the Pacific Coast, the incredibly tall trees that can reach up to 115,5 meters and that can live up to 2,200 years. In the poem there are the voices of dryads, wood nymphs and divinities that preside over trees, and of hamadryads, wood nymphs who only live as long as their trees. Clearly, the poem is their song of death as heard by the poet, since the woodcutters do not hear them crying. Except, the poet heard it, and translated it into common language. We quote here a passage from this song, the wood nymph’s song in italics, as it was composed by Whitman (from part 1):

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5 CONCLUSION (Part 11)

“Song of the Exposition”, as the title suggests, was a composition that was presented at the Annual Exhibition in New York City, on September 7, 1871. It sings the grandeur of the United States, its industrial, commercial and human power. It unites the ancient muse with the American Muse, Columbia, the first name of the United States, which represents the Union, the National Flag, the Nation, and the Mother of all its citizens. It is in fact a nationalist song, as we can see in the quotation below in its two last stanzas (it is a curious coincidence that Whitman has written a song about nationality to be read on September 7, our Independence Day):

WHITMAN:

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5 CONCLUSION (Part 10)

“Song of the Broad-Axe” presents a great introductory stanza and the persistent use of anaphoras (see section 3.5). It was published in 1856 and underwent much revision, but the first six lines have remained untouched ever since. In relation to the axe mentioned in the title, Whitman’s points to his uselessness in the hands of European headsmen, while praising its use in the hands of woodcutters and lumberjacks in America (terms used to refer to this occupation before the invention of chainsaws and similar equipments). As a result of this work, there would be wood for building houses, furniture, etc. The middle part of section three is a self-reference, since he also worked as a carpenter in his youth. We will quote the first part of the poem and a passage from section 2 to illustrate the use of anaphora. Part of this poem, published in 1856, was later excluded by the poet. This part, titled “His Shape Arises”, is quoted in section 2.5.2.

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5 CONCLUSION (Part 9)

“A Song of Joys” expresses the Romantic feeling of longing for home, the place where he was born, but also the transcendental sympathy that must be part of the human soul, which leads us to do our share of the work towards the common good. He is so happy that he is capable of facing any thing, even torture or death. At the end of the second passage quoted below his song is similar to what a soldier or a samurai has to confront, that is, willingly give their own lives for their cause, which is also part of the Romantic heroism (this poem does not have numbered subdivisions):

WHITMAN:

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