Walt Whitman and is great vision of democracy

Walt Whitman brings a different perspective to American democracy in his poems. Whitman also reflects his vision of American democracy and equality through his poems. In Whitman’s book Leaves of Grass published in 1860, the poem “I Hear America Singing” shows Whitman’s patriotism and his belief in the significance of the “common man and woman” in American society. Also another poem by Whitman, “Oh Captain! My Captain” mentions the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, by using metaphoric language. In his poems, Whitman reflects his vision of American democracy by using the themes of patriotism and individualism. The poem “I Hear America Singing” offers the poet's idea of a democratic ideal. , with each person contributing to the welfare of the U. S nation. Whitman celebrates individualism and equality by using “varied carols” in the poem(Line 1). Also in the poem, Whitman points out that each individual creates the nation by their values. Whitman starts the lines by using the figures such as “carpenter” “mason” “boatman” and “mechanics” to represent the working class at the time of American society. (Line 2) In the poem, each character represents his uniqueness as he sings about his occupation. (Blooms 7) By mentioning the socio-economic divide, Whitman reflects his vision of America. He thinks that the government will embrace the bourgeoisie class in terms of government roles. (Line 3-4) Through the use of themes in the poem, Whitman uses the themes of individualism and patriotism to reflect his vision of democracy. He uses the word “singing” as a metaphor to represent individualism. (Line 9) Whitman adds a whole different level to the poem by extending the poem's depiction of individuality. He uses the idea that each person is unique and has their song and also points out that their values in terms of occupations are important for the American culture and society. Individuals are cogs in the American system, and key to democratic machinery overall. (JSTOR, 2). In the poem, Whitman assimilates individualism and he finds individuals that sing their songs worth respecting. According to Whitman singing is an outright allegory for individualism. Through the poem, “Oh Captain! My Captain! ”, Whitman metaphorically includes his writing to continue the poem. He substitutes words for another to build the rest of the poem. He uses the word “Captain” to represent Abraham Lincoln. In the poem, the theme of patriotism can be seen. Whitman was impacted by patriotism from his childhood, because of his parents. Because of these reasons Whitman had developed strong attachments to the president at that time. Also, he uses the words “ship” to represent the “United States of America” and “the fearful trip” for “the Civil War”. Also, the repetition he uses helps to assert the uncertainty. Whitman expresses his feelings about Abraham Lincoln's death and he expresses his fear by using the repetition of “heart! heart! heart! ” (line 5). Also “bleeding drops of red” represents both Captain's situation and the poet's feelings(line 6). This shows Whitman’s feelings for Lincoln after his death. Whitman develops the metaphor for Abraham Lincoln. After referring to him as “Captain” as a military leader, he refers to him as “father”(line 13). That shows how Whitman celebrates Lincoln as the father figure of his country for the democratic contributions he made to the United States of America. In addition, Whitman uses the themes of patriotism and loyalty to express his vision of American Democracy by honoring Abraham Lincoln in his poem. Also, he uses personification at the end of the poem. The speaker in the poem walks with a “mournful tread” because he doesn’t want to leave Lincoln. Still, he says, "Exult, O shores, " as he realizes that the country is entitled to celebrate the victory that brought the "object won"—the reunification of the country(line 19). The theme of loyalty can be seen in the poem where he kept referring to Lincoln as “captain” and “father”. One of the reasons he was so attached to him was because he was thinking“captain” was sharing the same spirit of courage and love of democracy with him. He reflects that one of the people that shaped his style of democracy was the captain. In conclusion, in the poem “I Hear America singing” and “Oh Captain! My Captain! ” written by Walt Whitman, Whitman represents and reflects his vision of American Democracy by using the themes of individualism, equality, and patriotism. He also emphasizes the importance of American society and American culture. He argues that the key to a democratic system is individuals and their distinctive values. Likewise, he was aiming to honor Abraham Lincoln when he was reflecting on his contributions to American Democracy. Altogether the vision of democracy and the future were the things that made Whitman's poems different from others along with his unique way of writing.