Walt Whitman is often referenced as America’s most influential poet. He voiced his opinions about how the nation could be bettered. He also believed in emphasizing both the individual and the community. Whitman often wrote to invoke awareness in his readers of the actual happenings in the nation and the affects they would have on every individual. Based on Walt Whitman’s beliefs and morals, a new breed of poets was created, especially through his incessant urging to make America a more democratic nation and his desire to have future poets further advance his ideas, as evidenced in his poem “There was a Child went Forth.”

Whitman believed in democracy, in hope for the nation. He saw democratic individuality as the ability to connect on a deeper level with the other individualities of a nation (Folsom). He is quoted:

Did you, too, O friend, suppose democracy was only for elections, for politics, and for a party name? I say democracy is only of use there that it may pass on and come to its flower and fruit in manners, in the highest forms of interaction between [people], and their beliefs — in religion, literature, colleges and schools — democracy in all public and private life….(Lewis).

Whitman felt the necessity to emphasize the importance of connecting all individuals and working through/with one another. Throughout so many of his poems, it is seen that the man had a sincere desire to pass, to other writers especially, the ideas he had for an American democracy in which everyone shared the ideal of working together for the common good, for the common man, and for the individual.

As a Theosophist, Whitman spent much time writing about the idea of solidarity, of unification. He held a moral of equality. He was highly in favor of the Universal Brotherhood, with the idea of having no distinction between the common differences of gender, race, and faith (Precursors). Interestingly enough, Whitman was a man of faith in God, however, his faith led him to believe that God can be found everywhere at anytime and that there is no need for an intermediary between man and his Creator (ibid). This belief further explains how the poet felt the individual fits in with the rest of creation. He felt that one must always go back to the self and see how the self interacts, coexists, and benefits society.

A poem entitled “There was a Child went Forth” from Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, incorporates all the beliefs and morals aforementioned. The poem introduces a child that grows and becomes part of everything that touches his life, and all those things become part of him. It ends with the child continuing his life journey and it mentions how he will still go forth every day in the future, since he became part of everything and it became part of it. The child represents America, and those who reside in the nation. The country becomes part of everyone in it, and vice versa. As it matures, it collects more and more from each individual in it; and, each individual takes pieces from the different elements that make up America.

A modern day poet, by name of Gloria Rovder Healy, spread her poetry in the style of Whitman (Healy). Her poem “Tribal Rhythms” is a great example of this. It is a short poem that follows the same idea of convergence of both the individual and the rest of creation that is reflected in “There was a Child went Forth (ibid).” It is about the narrator being on a beach and becoming one with the waves, the movements of her surroundings, and ultimately her father’s footsteps. It seems as though Whitman had success in getting the poets of the future to look back at his work as inspiration and continuing his ideas.

Walt Whitman was obviously one of America’s most influential poets. He wrote expressively about his ideas concerning the betterment of America as a nation. He spoke in high regards of emphasizing the relationship between the self and the community. The poet expressed a deep desire inform his readers of the nation’s affairs. He influenced many writers and they have carried on his legacy with their own creative flair, a desire he chiefly made known. It is evident that Walt Whitman’s beliefs and morals inspired a new breed of poets in many ways. He did this partly because he showed such concern for America and its citizens. The democracy he wrote of was a dream, never fully achieved, and yet because of this dream, so many new ideas and fresh writers emerged to illuminate the potential of Whitman’s hopes and goals.

Works Cited

Healy, Gloria R. “Tribal Rhythms.” Gloria Rovder Healy. 1995. The Free Zone. 06 Dec. 2008

.

Lewis, Jone J., ed. “Walt Whitman Quotes.” Wisdom Quotes. 2005. 08 Dec. 2008 . “PRECURSORS OF H.P.B.” 2008. The Theosophy Company. 06 Dec. 2008 .