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Walt WhitmanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The poem falls neatly into two halves, with a transition of two lines. Lines 1 to 6 focus on Whitman’s state of mind. In Lines 7 and 8 (the transition), he thinks in general terms of the possible feelings of other men. Then in Lines 9 to 12, he wonders what his friend is feeling and speculates about whether, although apart, they are both experiencing the same kind of emotions.
Line 1, the shortest line, announces the poem’s theme: the slow passage of time and the sorrow of the speaker. Lines 2 and 3 are longer, which suggests in the form of the poem the endlessly stretching hours. These two lines also proceed chronologically, from dusk (Line 2) through to nighttime (Line 3). These lines are set outside, in public places, where one might expect to find other people. However, the solitary Whitman deliberately seeks out an isolated spot (Line 2) and then tramps the deserted streets “deep in the night” (Line 3), likely encountering no one and certainly not talking to anyone. He is so enveloped by his private afflictions that he has no interest in—and no emotional resources for—interacting with others. Indeed, he seems close to tears, “stifling plaintive cries” (Line 3).
By Walt Whitman
A Glimpse
A Glimpse
Walt Whitman
America
America
Walt Whitman
A Noiseless Patient Spider
A Noiseless Patient Spider
Walt Whitman
Are you the new person drawn toward me?
Are you the new person drawn toward me?
Walt Whitman
As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days
As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days
Walt Whitman
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
Walt Whitman
For You O Democracy
For You O Democracy
Walt Whitman
I Hear America Singing
I Hear America Singing
Walt Whitman
I Sing the Body Electric
I Sing the Body Electric
Walt Whitman
I Sit and Look Out
I Sit and Look Out
Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass
Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman
O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! My Captain!
Walt Whitman
Song of Myself
Song of Myself
Walt Whitman
Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night
Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night
Walt Whitman
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
Walt Whitman
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
Walt Whitman