From Paumanok Starting
From Paumanok Starting - meaning Summary
Celebrating National Unity
Whitman imagines himself launching from Paumanok and touring the continent like a singing bird, absorbing and celebrating each region’s distinct songs while asserting an overarching unity. The poem pairs an expansive, inclusive national vision with attention to local voices: first the collective "idea of all," then the particular songs of individual states. It reflects Whitman’s love of his native land and belief in a united American identity.
Read Complete AnalysesFROM Paumanock starting, I fly like a bird, Around and around to soar, to sing the idea of all; To the north betaking myself, to sing there arctic songs, To Kanada, till I absorb Kanada in myself—to Michigan then, To Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, to sing their songs, (they are inimitable;) Then to Ohio and Indiana to sing theirs—to Missouri and Kansas and Arkansas, to sing theirs, To Tennessee and Kentucky—to the Carolinas and Georgia, to sing theirs, To Texas, and so along up toward California, to roam accepted everywhere; To sing first, (to the tap of the war-drum, if need be,) The idea of all—of the western world, one and inseparable. And then the song of each member of These States.
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