I Am He That Aches With Love Analysis

The poem "I Am He That Aches With Love" is a poem written by Walt Whitman. So whenever we read poems or really just anything we can have several different ways of interpreting what the poem actually means. We can look at it from the literal way where everything that is written down is actually what Whitman wanted us to read it as. There is the Everyman view point that has the main character be a common every day man. There is a Christianity and Spiritual viewpoint where the things in the poem are symbolic in the stories and symbols of religion or God. There is also an American view point where Whitman just writes about America. When we look at "I Am He That Aches With Love," "I am he that aches with amorous love;/ Does the earth gravitate? does not all matter, aching, attract all matter?/ So the body of me to all I meet or know" (Whitman). When we first look at it from a literal point, we see that Whitman identifies himself as a man who urges for sexual love and satisfaction. He then asks whether the Earth has a gravitational pull and if matter attracts matter. He then offers his body to any one he meets or knows. This could be said that since all matter is attracted to matter, that he is attracted to all people since they too are matter. From this we can conclude that when he offers his body to anyone he meets, he is offering sex to them as well. From the literal meaning, this poem is very sexual. When we look at this poem from the Everyman view point, we see that the "I" in the poem is the average citizen and this average citizen wants sexual love or satisfaction. And from being attracted to everyone they want to offer their body to any one they may meet. This citizen could be any one, and in from this viewpoint, the meanings of both the literal view point and the Everyman view point are the same except Whitman's role is now switched with a common man. When we view "I Am He That Aches With Love" from a Christianity and Spiritual view point, we could say that the "I" is God. And this sexual feeling of love represents religion. Because all matter is attracted to all matter, then we can say that God is offering religion to any one it meets or knows. This is generally true for religion and God as it is offered to any one of any class, race, or sex. So when we switch from a literal or Everyman view point to a spiritual view point, we can see there is a different meaning to it. Viewed from a Whitman America view point, "I Am He That Aches With Love" is seen once again as a totally different meaning. The "I" represents America and the sexual love could be the American Dream. So America has this feeling of offering anyone (other people) this American dream. At this point in time (1891-1892), America saw one of its greatest immigration totals ever. Millions of people were coming to America.


Whitman, Walt. "I Am He That Aches With Love." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

Journal 39 - Bardic Symbols

"Bardic Symbols" is a poem written by Walt Whitman. This poem is very reflective of his Everyman, America, and Christianity/ spirituality concepts. He interweaves these brilliantly to make "Bardic Symbols" a classic poem of these ages. When I read this poem the first thing that I observed when I read this poem was the America concept. It says, "As I walked where the sea-ripples wash you, Paumanok," (Whitman). Paumanok is a Native American phrase that means long island, which just so happens to be an island in New York. He then realizes as he is walking along this beach of long island, that he will never understand his existence. He talks of the ocean as a fierce mother and that could be the mother. The land could be the father. The twigs on the beach could be the children of this mother and father. Whitman says he does not understand existence is because as he is watching these twigs on the beach going back and forth from land to the sea and back again, he wonders what the point of existence is. He just does understand it. "Kiss me, my father!/ Touch me with your lips, as I touch those I love!/ Breathe to me, while I hold you close, the secret of the wondrous murmuring I envy!/ For I fear I shall become crazed, if I cannot emulate it, and utter myself as well/ as it" (Whitman).When we look from The Christianity concept we can think of instead of the father being Whitman's actual father, this father could be God. He says he loves God and he wants to remain close to God for all of his life. He is afraid of straying and he wants God to lead him in on the right path. When we look at William Dean Howells's reaction to "Bardic Symbols," we are not given a clear vision of what this poem represents. Howells jsut tells of how no one is Whitman and therefore no on e can understand what "Bardic Symbols" represents.


Howells, William Dean. ""Bardic Symbols"" The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .


Whitman, Walt. "Bardic Symbols." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

This Dust Was Once the Man Analysis

In this poem, "This Dust Was Once the Man," written by Walt Whitman, we see a very meaningful and a very short poem. It talks of the civil war and how the Union was saved by the Civil War. But there is also a deep message of murder and controversy surrounding the war. "This dust was once the man,/ Gentle, plain, just and resolute, under whose cautious hand,/ Against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age,/ Was saved the Union of these States" (Whitman). This is the poem. You can tell however the meaning of the poem. There is first the literal meaning. This is talking about a form of dust that was once not dust and instead a man. It was an ordinary, nice, and purposeful man. Under this hand there was the worst crime in the time that no age or land has ever seen before. This crime saved the Union of the United States. This last line is of course referring to the Union the United States' states' share with each other. Before the Civil War there was at first one Union. Then states in the south with slavery began to leave the Union and they formed the Confederacy which was rival to the Union. There were thirteen states in this Confederacy and then that is when the Civil War was started. It was to join the states together once again. After the Civil War it was once again the Union hence the line of, "Was saved the Union of these States" (Whitman). But this is the literal meaning. . When we look at it from a Whitman point of view, we could say that the man with the cautious hand who allowed the worst crime ever to happen is Abraham Lincoln. Whitman rarely, but still did, write about Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the President of the Union of the United States at this point in time. But Abraham Lincoln was the man who all of the Civil War happened under. He was often described as "Honest Abe." The point can be made that he was gentle with his words, and an ordinary man. He was also in the White House for a purpose. This terrible crime could be one of brothers fighting against brothers and turn the nation into a war against itself. This crime could refer to the hundreds of thousands of deaths that occurred during this war. The dust could also refer to the people who died during the war. This could all be brought to Abraham Lincoln even though many say he led the nation to becoming a whole nation once again; others could make the point he was the one who tore it apart in the first place. It all just depends on the perspective you are looking from. When we look at "This Dust Was Once the Man" from Whitman's Everyman concept, we can make the point that the man with the cautious hand was not Abraham Lincoln and that it was instead the soldiers of the war. This would then mean, that under a soldiers control and cautious hand, that the worst crime was committed. This crime could be the act of murder, a soldier killing another soldier, in battle. But these soldiers of the Union did save and bring the Union back together. So the Everyman concept is also a very valid perspective you could use.




"This Dust Was Once the Man. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. . Web. Mar 1. 2011.