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Walter Whitman
Whitman’s most famous and influential work was his collection of poems called Leaves of Grass. In this work, Whitman tried to write an American epic with these poems. The collection had 12 poems with 2,315 lines, with 1,335 of those lines coming from one of the more popular poems by him, called “Song of Myself”. The subject matter of this poem is very similar to most of his other works. He talks about his life and feelings using nature as a way to convey his emotions. He also has aspects of transcendentalism in his works as well.
One work that shows what Whitman’s poems is all about is the poem “Song at Sunset”. In this poem, Whitman describes his feelings as he stares into the beautiful sunset. This poem describes his career because Whitman was a transcendentalist. In both of these poems Whitman is talking about his love of nature. He describes nature as something that can respond and heal human emotions. He also shows a certain type of individualism in his poems as well. In “Song at Sunset” Whitman alone and not conforming to society and is one with nature. He was very much influenced by the likes of Emerson and Thoreau while adding his unique take on things.
Songs at Sunset is a poem by Walt Whitman. In this poem, Whitman talks about his thoughts on nature while he looks at the sunset. His love for nature is shown throughout the poem. I believe that this poem can and should be labeled as green writing for several reasons. This poem is “green” writing because it depicts nature as beautiful, it fosters affection for nature, and it has nature as the center of the poem. I believe these three qualities are what make a poem “green” because green poem celebrates nature. It makes one want to be with nature and not do things to harm it. This leads to one having some affection for nature because one doesn’t want to harm it. And because of these two qualities, nature must be the “main character” of the writing because that is the biggest thing about “green” writing. If nature isn’t the ”main character” then the other two aspects won’t be shown in the writing.
The first reason why I think that this poem deserves to be labeled as green literature is because of how Whitman depicts nature as beautiful. Throughout the poem, he talks about how the beauty of nature and how it affects him. For example, Whitman talks about nature saying, “I too throb to the brain and beauty of the earth, and of all the growths of the earth / I too have felt the resistless call of myself” (45-46). I believe in this line Whitman is talking specifically about the plants because he mentions “the growths of the earth”. Since plants grow out of the earth, it is logical to think that he is thinking of them when he writes this line.
This line shows that Whitman thinks nature is beautiful because of the words he uses to describe the earth. He uses the word “throb”, which means a beat or sounds with a strong rhythm. I believe that he uses this word because he is talking about his heart. When he looks at nature his heart starts beating stronger. Nature gives him a feeling that he doesn’t get from anywhere else. When he isn’t with nature, Whitman feels this call to go back and be with nature again. He needs to be with nature all the time to be truly happy.
Another line that supports the idea that Whitman thinks nature is beautiful is when he writes, “Open mouth of my Soul, uttering gladness / Eyes of my Soul, seeing perfection / Natural life of me, faithfully praising things / Corroborating forever the triumph of things” (5-8). Whitman in these lines is talking about how when he looks at nature, he sees perfection. To him nothing will be as perfect as the sunset he is seeing right now. Later on in the poem Whitman talks about the different places he’s been to like Mississippi and Chicago. No matter where he has been, the sunset charges him up with contentment and happiness. All he needs is to see nature and he can get through anything.
The last line that really supports the idea of nature’s beauty is when he writes,
“Good in all,
In the satisfaction and aplomb of animals,
In the annual return of the seasons,
In the hilarity of youth,
In the strength and flush of manhood,
In the grandeur and exquisiteness of old age,
In the superb vistas of Death.” (17-23)
These couple of lines is very important because Whitman is not only talking about the beauty of nature, but also the beauty of life. First he describes the good in nature when talking about animals and the change of seasons. He loves how confident and beautiful the animals are. He also finds the good in changing seasons. Some people dread the winter because of the harsh weather but not Whitman. He finds beauty in all seasons and asks the reader to consider this. Then Whitman talks about the beauty of life. He mentions all aspects of life including adolescence through, to being a teenager, to being a strong young man, to finally becoming old and passing away. He says that there is good in every aspect of life, even dying, which is something that most people can’t do. Dying is a tough subject for many people and most can’t find any good in it but Whitman says that there is.
In these lines, I believe that Whitman is trying to connect the life of nature with the life of humans. To him, both are important and should be cherished. Putting nature and humanity in the same couple of lines isn’t a coincidence. He is trying to get the reader to make a connection between nature and human life. We start out small and grow until we die just like plants. I think that he’s saying that we should appreciate the life we have while it’s still there; this includes both nature and humans.
Another reason why I think that this poem is green writing is because Whitman talks about his affection for nature and he makes the reader feel affection of nature as well. One of the best lines in his poem that articulates this is when he writes:
“SPLENDOR of ended day, floating and filling me!
Hour prophetic—hour resuming the past!
Inflating my throat—you, divine average!
You, Earth and Life, till the last ray gleams, I sing” (1-4).
These are the first couple of lines in the poem and it sets off the mood through the rest of it. Whitman has had a good day and now he gazes on the sunset. The day has come to an end and he feels like singing because of the day, earth, and life. This first section of the poem gives off an elated feeling of happiness. Whitman wants to sings with happiness because of the beauty of nature.
Another line that makes the reader have some affection for nature is when Whitman writes:
“I say Nature continues—Glory continues;
I praise with electric voice;
For I do not see one imperfection in the universe;
And I do not see one cause or result lamentable at last in the universe.
O setting sun! Though the time has come,
I still warble under you, if none else does, unmitigated adoration” (57-62).
Whitman continues with the fact that nature makes him want to sing with joy. In these lines, he also talks about how nature and glory continue with or without humanity. No matter what happens with us, nature will continue to be beautiful and take back what humans have used. Whitman then talks about how he doesn’t see any imperfection in the universe when he is gazing on the sunset. The sunset makes everything around him feel okay and all of his problems go away. There is only the beauty of nature. Nothing causes him sorrow or grief when he looks up at the sunset. These lines definitely show Whitman’s affection for nature. When he is with nature his problems go away and all he wants to do is be in nature. As the poem ends and the sunset is about to go away, Whitman is overcome with elation and “unmitigated adoration” (62).
The last line that shows Whitman’s affection for nature is when he writes:
“Wonderful how I celebrate you and myself!
How my thoughts play subtly at the spectacles around!
How the clouds pass silently overhead!
How the earth darts on and on! and how the sun, moon, stars, dart on and on!
How the water sports and sings! (Surely it is alive!)
How the trees rise and stand up—with strong trunks—with branches and leaves!
(Surely there is something more in each of the tree—some living Soul.)” (33-39).
In these lines, he describes the nature around him. He says that he celebrates the sunset and how his thoughts are always about the nature surrounding himself. The nature around him is alive and well. He describes the clouds, sun, moon and stars. Looking at the water and trees makes him happy. One big moment in these lines is when he says that the trees must have some living soul in them. I believe that this is an important line because Whitman believes that nature and humanity is one and the same. We both have souls. With him saying this, I am lead to believe that he believes that humanity and nature should coexist together, no one dominating the other.
The way Whitman uses punctuation throughout the poem also shows his love for nature. When seeing the amount of exclamation points there are in the poem, it isn’t hard to see that Whitman loves nature. For example, when he writes “O amazement of things! even the least particle! / O spirituality of things! / O strain musical, flowing through ages and continents—now reaching me and America!” (40-42), you can tell he is happy. The beauty of nature makes him excited and the exclamation point help the reader understand this. Without these exclamation points, the reader wouldn’t get the complete feeling of happiness that Whitman is trying to convey.
The last reason why I think that this poem is green writing is because nature is at the center of the poem. This whole poem is about how Whitman appreciates what nature does to him. It makes him feel at peace and happy. Nature, more specifically the sunset, is the main character of this poem since he is writing about his feelings when he looks at it. This is one of the biggest parts of this poem being a green poem. If the poem isn’t somehow talking about nature at all, then a poem shouldn’t be labels as green.
Whiteman’s poem is definitely a piece of “green” literature. He writes about how nature’s beauty stuns him. It makes him feel amazing. This poem also gives the reader affection for nature. Because of how much Whitman loves nature, the reader can’t help but share the affection Whitman has for the sunset and nature. Finally, nature is obviously the center of this poem. Nature is the main character and is at the spotlight. Because of all of these reasons, Songs at Sunset should be classified as a “green” poem.
Works Cited
Poem
"Song at Sunset." By Walt Whitman. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <http://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/13372/song_at_sunset>.
Sources
"Walt Whitman Biography." - Biographical Poet Info. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <http://www.poetrysoup.com/walt_whitman/biography>.
Poets.org. Academy of American Poets. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/walt-whitman>.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman>.
