An ode to Democracy

' Of all of mankind the great poet is the equable man'- Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman is perhaps America's first democratic poet. He not only gave democracy in America it's spiritual meaning but also followed through by adopting free verses in poetry, making it accessible to all. In the first version of his book," Leaves of the grass" Whitman potrays himself as a representative of the common man.

In the poem, ' A song to myself, stanza six, Whitman goes into a litany of metaphors comparing people to blades of grass.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,

And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,

Growing among black folks as among white,

Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same.

He calls it a 'Uniform hieroglyphic' as a symbol of equality that is the cornerstone of democratic America. Another interesting notion that he conveys through this is that nature itself is the greatest equaliser. We all, whether dark or light, rich or poor are in the end made out of nature to which we shall return. He maintains that we may have our individuality and singular nature and that it only goes on to make the united group richer.He also adds that all these blades of grass come together to form a single harmonious whole that should constitute democracy.

Whitman takes us through what constitutes the American life pointing out that each person could be him or us. Whitman considered America to be the greatest poem since it was the first self created nation that aimed to please no one but itself. It seems a sentiment akin to the idea of Death of god where he says that Americans have redefined themselves as gods.The very first lines of his poem declare that he is celebrating himself and not god and that he doesn't understand why we should celebrate god instead of our wonderful selves. Whitman's poetry describes an ideal nation, something that America and the rest of the world is still striving to achieve and it especially holds significance in today's times with the advent of the ' Black lives matter movement.'even with every advance we have made as a race, we have been unable to shed the notions of hierarchy and Darwinian competitiveness for a collective unity.

REFERENCES-

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/leaves-of-grass/summary-and-analysis-song-of-myself/introduction

https://readgreatliterature.com/whitmans-song-of-myself-america-in-blade-of-grass/#:~:text=1.,the%20history%20of%20the%20world.

https://whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_498.html