Hear America Singing Walt Whitman

¶ … hear America Singing

Walt Whitman was one of the more celebrated African-American poets of his time with Leaves of Grass being his most important work. In his highly acclaimed poem, "I hear America Singing," the poet had expressed his desire of seeing a more racially neutral America. In many ways, the poem was visionary just like the famous "I have a Dream" speech by Mather Luther King junior.

Whitman's poem however was deeply grounded in African-American folk tradition or what we normally would call "the blues." The blues music was expression of African-American sentiment in its purest form, devoid of all artificiality. "Although many younger African-Americans do not relate closely to the blues, because they have not grown up in the same world that their grandparents experienced- many younger whites (or brown or yellow people) see the blues as an expressive tool that can detail their feelings about life in general, or about the nature of their own lives. Others relate to the party or dance aspects of the blues, and do not spend a lot of time thinking about the message of the music." (Weissman, p.3)

In other words, blues were always a tool for African-Americans to express their anger, their desires, their resentment and their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Although blues took its birth in the environment of deep oppression, its popularity is grounded in the fact that it touched many feelings which hold universal appeal. Whitman's poetry showed a clear folk influence and that can be seen in 'I hear American Singing" where he says in most clear terms:

HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear;

Those of mechanics -- each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;

The poem was metaphorically describing the vision that Whitman had- the vision of an America where everyone would be happy and enjoying their work. Since oppression was common and widespread, Whitman envisioned a place where people would be embraced without any discrimination and where they will live and work in contentment. The blues had a clear influence on this form of poetry as Whitman himself confessed that he liked to use language of the common man since language was meant to describe ordinary everyday feelings and not some abstract concepts:

Language, be it remembered, is not an abstract construction of the learn'd, or of dictionary makers, but is something arising out of the work, needs, ties, joys, affections, tastes, of long generations of humanity, and has its bases broad and low, close to the ground. Its final decisions are made by the masses, people nearest the concrete, having most to do with the actual land and sea. It permeates all, the Past as well as the Present, and it is the grandest triumph of the human intellect." (Walt Whitman, 1166)

In the poem under discussion, we notice how ordinary the language in its meaning. Its simplicity is what makes it comparable to a blue song.

The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing

For Whitman simplicity of language was very important. He had come to the conclusion that deep down every man thinks and feels the same way. Whether we use very sophisticated language or very simple one, in both cases the feelings expressed are the same. Thus he preferred to use simpler one in order to reach the masses and to make poetry more accessible to everyone. Many might feel that blues is nothing but slang but for Whitman slang had its own power and if it could express sentiments more clearly, he had no problem in borrowing a word or a line from it. He thus said: