On Journeys Through the States
On Journeys Through the States - context Summary
Leaves of Grass Travel Theme
Placed in Leaves of Grass, Whitman’s poem frames travel as democratic pedagogy: moving through states and nations, the speaker learns from and teaches diverse people. Journeys mirror seasonal cycles, suggesting transient stays, reciprocal influence, and continual renewal. The voice urges candor, bodily and spiritual openness, and a temperate, generous presence that allows what one gives to return in kind. It encapsulates Whitman’s itinerant self-fashioning and civic optimism.
Read Complete AnalysesON journeys through the States we start, (Ay, through the world—urged by these songs, Sailing henceforth to every land—to every sea;) We, willing learners of all, teachers of all, and lovers of all. We have watch’d the seasons dispensing themselves, and passing on, We have said, Why should not a man or woman do as much as the seasons, and effuse as much? We dwell a while in every city and town; We pass through Kanada, the north-east, the vast valley of the Mississippi, and the Southern States; We confer on equal terms with each of The States, We make trial of ourselves, and invite men and women to hear; We say to ourselves, Remember, fear not, be candid, promulge the body and the Soul; Dwell a while and pass on—Be copious, temperate, chaste, magnetic, And what you effuse may then return as the seasons return, And may be just as much as the seasons.
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