Walt Whitman is considered one of the most influential American poets. In his collection Leaves of Grass, he explores themes of spirituality, democracy, and technology. However, nature stands out as one of his most significant topics. In poems like Song of Myself and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Whitman uses nature symbolically and sees a connection between nature and humanity. He believes humans are intrinsically linked to the natural world. The document provides analysis of how Whitman depicts nature and the natural elements in these two poems.

1. La’Ken Brazzle
Dr. Burduck
ENGL 3920
21 April 2015
Walt Whitman – Nature
Walt Whitman is one of the greatest and most influential poets in the history of
American Literature. Whitman is known for many different contributions to the poetic
world. The poet is mainly known for his approach to transcendentalism and realism and
the creation of free verse, which mirrors in his works. He uses these innovations to
introduce America to a new radical type of poetry. The single most important date in
American Literature is considered to be 1855, when Walt Whitman publishes his first
collection of poems Leaves of Grass. Throughout his book of poems, Whitman discusses
several different themes such as spirituality, American democracy, science, and
technology. However, among all of the topics the poet debates, the natural world always
manages to stand out as one of the most significant matters he addresses. In Leaves of
Grass, Whitman shows the romantic poets relationship with nature. He believes that man
is nature's child and that man and nature must never be disjoined.
Within the books of poems, Leaves of Grass, the epic Song of Myself happens to
be the most important. Throughout the epic the speaker talks of a hero taking an
adventure. The poet’s relationship with the elements of nature and the universe is a very
significant topic within the poem Song of Myself. Whitman uses personal pronouns
throughout the poem to be interpreted as land or nature such as cities, lakes, ponds, and
hills. He explains how much he loves the patterns of nature and how perfectly they fit

2. Brazzle 2
together. In the poem, a child asks Whitman to explain what grass is. The poet does not
have an answer to the child’s question which gets him thinking about all of the different
kinds of representations grass portrays to him. The poet then begins to conclude that, “it
may be the flag of my disposition / Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the lord / Or I
guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of vegetation”(Whitman. 6. 101-105.).
Whitman even sees a positive connection between grass and death explaining that, “The
smallest sprout shows there is really no death, / And if there ever was it led forth to
life”(Whitman. 6. 126-127). The poet enlightens the reader by exposing grass as a thing
of value and a wonderful symbol of organicism; the many individual blades which make
up the entity.
Not only does Walt Whitman use nature symbolically in Song of Myself, but he
also uses nature in the poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. The poem describes a rush hour
commute from Manhattan across east river to Brooklyn. Land and water form part of a
symbolistic pattern throughout the poem. The ferry moves on from land, through water,
and then on to another point of land. In the poem, land plays an important role as the
symbol of everything physical, however, water has the most significant function
throughout Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. Water symbolizes infinity meaning that it does not
end; water also serves as a symbol of cleansing. The river in the poem serves as a mirror.
The poet looks into the river and sees, “The similitudes of the past and those of the
future”(Whitman. 2. 7.). As he looks into the river he starts to imagine all of the people of
past, present, and future who cast their faces into the river and links them into an ever-
present present. The poet recognizes the beauty of the Manhattan harbor, the sunset on
the river, and the twilight. The circular flow from the physical role of the land to the

3. Brazzle 3
spiritual role of the water fuses together the dual nature of the universe.
In the poetry era of Romanticism including the works of Walt Whitman, nature
serves as much more than just a simple setting on a movie screen where natural attractive
backdrops unfold. But more of a so-called human identity represented by natural barriers
such as water or land which are created by the poet. Walt Whitman writes his poetry to
act as a perfect example of how differently nature is interpreted through poetry, and how
meaningful it can be. The poems Song of Myself and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry are just a
couple out of many poems where Walt Whitman shows his affection towards the natural
world.
Word Count: 763

4. Brazzle 4
Work Cited
McMichael, George. Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 2: Realism to the Present.
9th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan, 1980. Print.
McMichael, George. "Walt Whitman." Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 2:
Realism to the Present. 9th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan, 1980. 54-167.
Print.