Walt Whitman’s Caution
Walt Whitman’s Caution - meaning Summary
Resistance Preserves Democratic Liberty
This short exhortation urges citizens and political bodies to favor resistance over unquestioning obedience. Whitman warns that passive submission leads to enslavement, and once a polity surrenders its liberty it cannot fully reclaim it. The poem champions individualism and civic vigilance, addressing nations, states, and cities and encapsulating a recurring Leaves of Grass theme that liberty requires persistent, sometimes defiant, participation.
Read Complete AnalysesTO The States, or any one of them, or any city of The States, Resist much, obey little; Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved; Once fully enslaved, no nation, state, city, of this earth, ever afterward resumes its liberty.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.