Inscriptions: Summary
This first section contains twenty-five poems, most of which are relatively short. The exceptions are “Eidólons” and the final poem “Starting from Paumanok,” which is much longer than the others and is divided into nineteen sections. “Inscriptions” presents a summary of the major themes which recur throughout Leaves of Grass: democracy, individualism, the variety of human experience, and connections between people. There is also a sense of optimism and of Whitman’s desire to embark, alongside readers, on the exciting journey that is this collection.
One’s-Self I Sing
“One’s-Self I Sing,” the first poem in the collection, opens with a commitment to individualism, “a simple separate person,” but also to equality and democracy. The poet claims to sing of men and women equally, describing life in both individual and unified terms as something “ immense in passion, pulse, and power.”
In Cabin’d Ships at Sea
His intentions made clear in the previous poem, Whitman exults in the voyage he has just begun, comparing this act of sharing his work, which he calls “a lone bark, cleaving the ether,” with the world to a literal voyage across a “boundless blue” sea. As he considers the destination of the metaphorical ship that is his poetry, he imagines the vessel bearing his love and carrying his readers—those “dear mariners” who accompany him—along a voyage of self-discovery and philosophizing.
Eidólons
In “Eidólons,” Whitman uses the image of eidólons—ghosts or phantom spirits that often appears in ancient Greek literature—to outline his core philosophy and belief in the interconnectedness of all things and souls. He reassures his soul that its yearning for companionship and connection will be “amply fed at last,” claiming that no song or spirit exists alone; instead, all are part of the whole. The poem celebrates the vastness of the universe, exulting in the existence of “all space, all time” and the “countless free identities” housed within this endless multitude. Despite their shadowy nature, eidólons embody the essence of everything; they are the “entities of entities” and, therefore, the ultimate truth.
Beginning My Studies
One of several poems that celebrate beginnings and the early days of a journey, “Beginning My Studies” reveals the poet’s struggle to forge onward. So consumed is he by these “ecstatic songs” that he wishes only to stop and celebrate them, reveling in the beauty of these creations. As such, he finds it difficult to continue his voyage, wishing to linger in these pleasing early days of the journey.
To the States
In this poem, Whitman speaks directly to the young United States of America, warning citizens to avoid “unquestioning obedience” and hold firm to their revolutionary origins. He offers them this motto: “Resist much, obey little.” Unfettered obedience, he explains, leads to slavery and the forfeit of liberty, which once lost, can never be regained.
I Hear America Singing
In “I Hear America Singing,” the poet describes a harmonious and melodious combination of songs sung by mechanics, carpenters, masons, and other laborers at work, as well as nursing mothers, and girls who are sewing or washing. The “varied carols” of all these workers express their individuality and the ways in which they put themselves into their work. Celebrating this varied multitude, Whitman praises the diversity and beauty of America, its people, and its novel national identity.
To You
Speaking about interconnectedness and the interaction between diverse people, the poet asks why strangers should not speak to each other in the street if they feel moved to do so and wonders about the social restrictions that bind people and keep them unnaturally estranged from one another.
Thou Reader
Whitman...
(This entire section contains 1162 words.)
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dedicates the “following chants” to the reader, who “throbbest life and pride and love the same as” the poet. In doing so, he includes the reader in the production of these “chants,” seeing in them the same creative spirit and sensitive impulse as he feels in himself.
Starting from Paumanok
Considerably longer than the other poems in “Inscriptions,” this poem begins as the poet declares that he was born in Paumanok—another name for Long Island, New York—and raised there by a “perfect” mother. As a young man, he traveled widely, spanning the entirety of America, from the North to the South and from Manhattan to California; during his travels, he embodied many roles, working as a miner and then just as soon “carrying my knapsack and gun” as a soldier.
Even when in the midst of the nation’s most beautiful natural wonders, he continued onward to new places, entranced by the diversity and individuality of the American landscape. He offers these chants and songs to the nation he knows so well, saying that his work is America’s offspring. For many years, he has studied the great masters and now feels able to stand among them, a uniquely American voice.
Whitman explains that he wishes to write material, physical poems which will be perfectly democratic and never subjugate one State to another. He intends to “report all heroism from an American point of view.” Moreover, he declares his spirituality, writing that he has an infinite capacity for devotion, worship, and belief, then adding that the “real and permanent grandeur of these States” must be the religion of Americans.
Thinking of these “States” and their divine beauty, Whitman describes walking in Alabama and hearing the song of the male mockingbird as the female sat on her nest full of eggs. It occurred to him that the bird’s song was not for that place and time alone but was also a gift for those being born. In much the same way, Whitman sees his songs as “the true poem of riches” for the democracy yet to be born. He will show that nothing is imperfect in the present or the future and that beauty stems from all things and all people.
The body, the environment, and the existence of all men are all symbols of the divine and superb soul that exists in all things. How, Whitman asks, can he not revel in this spiritual perfection? In his attempt to encapsulate these divine sights, Whitman claims that he has infinite subjects of which to write. Invoking the variety and beauty of the American landscape and speaking of his travels through it, the poet espouses love for everything and everyone in it.
In this vein, Whitman speaks of “the red aborigines,” saying that the Native Americans have departed, “charging the water and the land with names.” He asks the reader to see in his poems the sights of America: forests and valleys, cities and vehicles, farms and mines, and the myriad of people who live and work in them. The poem ends with a triumphant invitation, ending the first section of the collection and asking readers to “haste, haste on with me” throughout all those that follow.
