Walt Whitman's vision of America in "I Hear America Singing"

New America

Walt Whitman's Vision

Whitman's favorite subject was most likely America, as well as the various concepts he believed that it embodied. He was radical in the sense that he used prose that was an example of free verse that had didn't fit in any pre-made template. I his poem "I Hear America Singing" he portrayed his transcendent beliefs about the people and work[footnoteRef:1]. [1: (Whitman, N.d.)]

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, 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,

Whitman believed that everyone was independent but at the same time were all interconnected. Each person had a different task or different type of work to do which made them independent but at the same time they were all singing the same song which represents a sense of collective efforts. Through his writings, Whitman adds his own labor to his vision for America.

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day -- at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs[footnoteRef:2]. [2: (Whitman, N.d.)]

The poem "What He Thought" by Heather McHugh uses a style of prose that is reminiscent of Whitman's work -- it is definitely written in free verse with a wide variety of different line length, punctuation, and content. She writes about a trip she takes to Europe in which she has the opportunity to represent herself as an American poet among her European counter parts or the "Italian literati" as she calls them in the poem.

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