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I Hear America Singing
by Walt Whitman
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
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I Hear America Singing was first published in 1850 and then included in the 1860 collection, “Leaves of Grass.”
When you note the date of publication, you cannot help but think about the juxtaposition of the poem’s cheerful working class tone against the political backdrop into which it was published. The American Civil War was on the horizon (it started a year later) and tension between the states was incredibly tense. The country had never been more divided. For the five years after the poem’s release, Americans killed each other at unimaginable levels. Yet… Whitman, in that environment, reminds us that we are all human. We work. We are individuals. We go on about our business. In the midst of group catastrophe, there is hope in the individual.
Whitman is sometimes known as the Father of Free Verse, and this is an example of him writing in that form. That is not to say that the poem lacks structure. Its structure takes the form of something very much like a bullet point list of America’s working class cheerfully doing their vocation.
One notable omission from Whitman’s poem – particularly notable given the timeframe in which it was published – is a discussion of American slaves. You might view the omission as an attempt to gloss over the messy political issue of the day. Or you might view it as intentionally glaring. Its omission draws attention to the topic. The slaves are perhaps not shown singing in the work because unlike the poem’s other mentioned groups, they are not free.
I definitely recommend giving this short poem analysis of Whitman’s work a few minutes of your time.
I also recommend the following video, which provides an excellent reading of the piece:
Whitman, in addition to looking a lot like Gandalf the Grey, was a complicated person to understand in retrospect. There was debate even during his life over whether he was a homosexual – which would not have been well-received in the 19th century had it been confirmed. He was also not Christian, but rather Deistic and Universalist. This was more well-known in his lifetime. He was a big fan of Abraham Lincoln and he supported abolition in theory, though not as it was often practiced. He viewed abolitionists as doing more harm than good overall, with their actions inadvertently slowing down the success of their cause. Whitman was accused of “white manism” in his lifetime by abolitionist.
In the face of all of this, Whitman is often regarded as America’s National Poet. I feel as though this says something about America, though I am not sure what the message is.
In putting some thought into I Hear America Singing, I have decided to explain the most charitable way to explain Whitman’s work and I take my cue from the aforementioned Gandalf. In a time of impending calamity, Whitman looked to the ordinary deeds of ordinary men as his source of hope for the future.
