The Symbol of the Road in Walt Whitman's
"Song of the Open Road"
By:
Huda A. Hashim, Assistant Instructor
University of Baghdad
College of Education for Women
Department of English
2008
The Symbol of the Road in Walt Whitman's "Song of the Open Road"
By: Huda A. Hashim, Assistant Instructor
University of Baghdad
College of Education for Women
Department of English
Abstract
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is a 19th century poet who is often described as
a modern one because of the revolutionary nature of his poetry. In his poems,
Whitman breaks with the conventions of English verse in form and content. For
instance, he is a symbolist though symbolism is a great movement of the 20th
century.
Whitman's symbols are flexible and sometimes ambiguous. The present
study aims at unraveling the symbol of the road in his lyric "Song of the Open
Road". In this poem, he takes the role of a vagabond traveling and exploring the
open road which stands for numerous meanings and ideals. The paper explicates
Whitman's humanitarian tendencies which are broader than the national
concerns that are greatly emphasized in most of his poems and discussed in many
studies.
"
/
(
-
)
.
.
.
."
"
.
The Symbol of the Road in "Song of the Open road"
By Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, with its nine editions throbs with love
to ideals, people and places. In its preface Whitman remarks that the poet's
"thoughts are hymns of the praise of things."1 His "Song of the Open Road"
which has appeared in its second edition in 1956 is truly a hymn in which he
employs the symbol of the road to speak in favour of indispensable values and
ideals for the well being of humanity at large. "Song of the Open Road" is a
merry chant of a wanderer who embraces all that he meets while traveling on
the open road with optimism and cheer. He wrote this poem in the second half
of the nineteenth century which is the dawn of symbolism as a movement that
has emerged in France in the writings of French poets like Baudelaire, Rimband,
Verlaine, Mallarmé and Paul Valéry. They employed the suggestiveness of
symbols for the sake of portraying reality.2 Whitman's poetry is highly symbolic
for he exploits recurrent images in most of his poems such as the image of the
grass, the sea, the bird, the road…etc until they end up as symbols in his poems.3
His heavy reliance on the road as a symbol to preach for his ideals stems from his
belief that a poem must be "indirect"4 and that "the process of reading is not a
half-sleep, but in the highest sense, an experience, a gymnast's struggle; … the
reader is to do something for himself, must be on the alert, must himself or
herself construct indeed the poem."5 Therefore, the readers of Whitman's poetry
should bear in mind that he employs his symbols to preach about his ideals and
that his symbols are flexible. They are flexible in the sense that they acquire new
dimensions through the poem leaving it as a piece of diamond with an array of
brilliant facets. But, he never leaves his readers baffled.. The study unfolds the
meanings of the road as a symbol in "Song of the Road" and guides the readers to
follow Whitman's comprehensive conclusions about life and his role as a moral
and spiritual leader.
The Traveler Sings:
A foot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Heartily, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me lending wherever I choose 6
The pronoun 'I' of the poem could not be merely the wanderer, it could be
Whitman himself, the reader, everyone or he is "a type of the all human race"7.
The road as a symbol has latent references once traced could actually justify S.C.
Mundra's observation that Whitman is "the first great…poet who combined the
humanitarian note, embracing common man with a mystical and comprehensive
concept of Democracy." 8
Whitman's devotion to humanity en masse is frequently articulated not
only in his poetry but also in his remarks about his verse. He announces
explicitly that the true poet's heart is dedicated to the universe. "The known
universe has one complete lover and that's the greatest poet."9 In his fellow
human beings he finds the rich mine of ore for his lyrics:
For grounds for leaves of Grass as a poem, I abandoned the
conventional themes, which do not appear in it; none of stock
ornamentation, or choice plots of love or war, or high,
exceptional personages of old-world song, nothing, as I may say,
for beauty's sake-no legend, or myth, or romance, nor
euphemism, not rhyme. But the broadest average of humanity .10
Thus, the humanitarian outlook is one of the ways of living life that he
commends in "Song of the Open Road" especially if we consider his respect to
"common people".11 This outlook is closely attached to his universal democratic
ideal which is not the American democratic concept but what could be
considered as the universal fraternity and equality of all people for he is a great
equalitarian. One usually finds catalogues of people from different ranks and of
various professions in his poetry particularly in "Song of the Open Road" as a
symbol of his universal democratic vista which he calls all people to have a
strong belief in. His universal democracy is mystically envisioned in the sense
that he believes that the realisation of the individual's soul identity is with the
cosmo.12
Accordingly, the humanitarian, mystical and democratic attitude referred to
are the suggestive clues for unfolding the cryptic symbol of the road in the poem.
He has chosen the road because it is the place where people come together
regardless of status and social rank. The road is used by both the poor and rich and
it is a chance for different people to associate with each other.13 He uses it as a
trope to evoke in our minds the idea of a new way of living and enjoying existence
against a background in which the above mentioned ideals of universal
brotherhood and equality are fulfilled.
The poem is of fifteen sections, in almost every section; Whitman orients
his readers to the meaning of road as a symbol. So, he begins his poem by
describing his rambling and joy with the great manifestations of "earth"
suggesting that life is "full of new possibilities symbolized by the 'brown path'
that takes him wherever he chooses.
He celebrates the out-doors which are rich with vigorous life in comparison
with the "indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticism" (P. 156) as he sings:
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous
criticism, strong and content I travel the open road.
(p.156)
Then he commends the road because it teaches him a lesson of democracy
as it accepts all with no distinction; "the felon", "the tramp", "the illiterate
person", "the beggar", "the drunkard", etc all on the same path which is a teacher
of comradeship. In section three, the road is described as a teacher of human
nature because the road with its objects is "latent with unseen existences" of
those who come across it dead or living. So the poet addresses the objects such as
the stones, the rivers, the long flat piece of timber, the wharves…etc asks them
to impart their secrets to him.14
He proceeds saying that the road is a good test and a great chance for the
soul's development because the soul is tested on the road by the struggle it faces:
I think heroic deeds were all conceiv'd in the open air and
all free poems also,
I think I could stop here myself and do miracles.
(p. 158)
Moreover, walking across the road reveals the poet's faith in the goodness
of human nature15:
I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and
whoever beholds me shall like me,
I think whoever I see must be happy.
(p. 158)
Indeed the road is a great teacher to the poet and now it teaches him liberty
from limits and restraints and makes his soul expand with its innate goodness as
soon as it is set free:
I am larger, better than I thought,
I did not know I held so much goodness.
All seems beautiful to me.
(p. 159)
Furthermore, the road with its outdoor atmosphere and open air is a
teacher for many people that teaches wisdom and create the ethical and moral
essence of their mentalities; a deed that cannot be done in "lecture-rooms" it is a
chance of self-realisation once the soul is subject to tests which are the hazards
of the open air environment:
Here is realization,
Here is a man tallied-he realizes here what he has in him
(p. 160)
Tilak argues that "it is only the 'inner essence" or kernel of things which
nourishes and strengthens, and this 'kernel' is developed to the fill in the open
road alone."16
Again the road is a teacher of comradeship for it gathers people and wrap
them with love:
Here is adhesiveness, it is not previously fashoin'd, it is a
propos;
Do you know what it is as you pass to beloved by strangers.
(p. 160)
Whitman's high ideal of democracy is further highlighted as he inquires about
the secret that makes his soul expand with joy once he is intermingled with people
on the open road and the road becomes the stage on which the soul finds its
essential oneness with all: "what is it I interchange so suddenly with strangers?"
(p. 16)
The open road charges people with happiness, sweetness and freshness as
they experience comradeship and contact with each other. Humanity is
pervaded by a sense of happiness felt through the rambling experience upon the
road.
Section nine onward is invitational to all people: "Allons! Whoever you are
come travel with me!" (p. 161)
And the journey on his road is spiritual towards eternity and divine things,
"a metaphysical; idea17 "voiced in his assurance: "I swear to you there are divine
things more beautiful than words can tell." (p. 161)
Section ten and eleven clarify that the open road is fit only for those who
show endurance, health and courage because it is the route on which the soul
progresses so the weak ad irresolute is excluded. One should not be jarred by the
difficulties put by limited minded priests and philosophers and should not expect
"riches" and one shouldn't also be hindered by the ironical smiles and mocking
of those who remain behind He accentuates the divine realization which the
soul of the brave undergoes. Afterwards, the poet declares that the road is
endless because:
To know the universe itself as a road, as many roads as
roads for traveling souls.
(p.164)
These two lines are the only direct and definite meaning of the road as a
symbol mentioned by Whitman. And because the road to Whitman is the
universe, the soul on the open road is ceasingly traveling towards its 'progress'
and this which makes its expand and become free and unlimited. Again, he
emphasises the attributes of roaming on the open road in comparison with the
outwardly happiness of the people of the city. He warns his companions not to
be deceived:
Through the laughter, dancing, dining, supping, of people,
Inside of dresses and ornaments, inside of those wash'd and
trimm'd faces,
Behold a secret silent loathing and despair.
(p.165)
Life, he believes, is where the road takes you and what you behold in the
houses is stagnation 'death under the breast-bones, hell under the skull-bones'.
(p. 166)
Tilak perceives in section fourteen a mystical connotation for the road, for
the soul travels 'towards God'18:
It is the road of revolt and rebellion and he recalls for it enthusiastically and
asks the listener to show courage and determination:
Allon! Through struggles and wars!
The goad that was named cannot be countermanded.
(p. 166)
The road takes the soul to a noble destination and it never ends so he asks
his companions to leave unfinished things as they are because the gains of
traveling as such a road are valuable including fraternal love that Whitman feels
towards his fellow human beings which is crystal clear in his lines:
Comrado, I give you my hand
I give you my love more precious than money
I give you myself.
(p. 167)
The path eventually stands for the way to spirituality and the travelers'
exploration and journey is the soul's identification with the divine universe and
whoever and whatever he meets while living.
Having chosen the attributive word "open" to identify the road accentuates
Whitman's faith in the importance of the role of liberty in constructing man's
spiritual independence and self-reliance which is the essence of his message in
this poem to his fellow human beings. "Song of the Open Road" begins with
Whitman walking alone on the road and ends significantly with him
accompanied by a fellow human being which emphasizes the melody of love and
concord that he pleads his readers to listen to through the lines of his poem. The
road, Whitman wants to say, as one of the common basics of both the city and
the village is a chance of singing the song of existence on mother earth for all
human beings.
Notes
1. Whitman,
"Preface" in Walt Whitman's Poems edited by Gay Wilson
Allen and Charles T. Davis (New York: New York University Press, 1955), p. 56.
2. Martin
Gray, A Dictionary of Literary Terms (Hong Kong: Wah Tong
Printing Press Ltd, 1984), P. 104.
3. P.S.
Sastris, Walt Whitman's Selected Poems (Agra: Lakshmi Narain
Agarwal, n.d.), P. 34.
4. Ibid.,
p.55.
5. Sastris,
6. All
P.8.
subsequent quotations from "Song of the Open Road" will be taken
from The Portable Walt Whitman ed. 'Mark Van Doren (England: Penguin
Books, 1984).
7. S.C.
Mundra. A Reader's Guide to American Literature (Bareilly: Prakash
Depot, n.d.) p. 178.
8. Ibid.,
P. 177.
9. Allen
and Davis, p. 57.
10.
A.N. Dwivedi, Walt Whitman The Poet (Barrilley: Parakash Book
Depot, n.d.), ( pp. 23-24)
11.
Allen and Davis, p. 53.
12.
Mundra, pp. 183-184.
"Whitman's Mysticism is essentially transcendental and Vedantic. It can be
explained in terms of 'Advaita' or non-dualism. Vedantic or supreme soul, which
is alone transcendent and immanent.
The 'Jiratma' or the individual soul seeks liberation from the external cycle
of life and death , to become one with the pormatma or the supreme soul
….Whitman's mystical vision is cosmic."
13.
"Song of the Open Road".(URL:http://www.sparknotes.com/poery/
whitman/section 10rhtml) Retrieved (11th July,2008).
14.
Sastris, p. 277.
15.
Raghukul Tilak, Walt Whitman Selected Poems (New delhi: Roma
Brothers India PTV-LTD-, 2006), p. 116.
16.
Tilak, p.117.
17.
Sastris, p. 278.
18.
Tilak, p. 118.
Bibliography
Allen, Gay Wilson and Davis, Charles T. ed., Walt Whitman's Poems (New
York: New York University press. 1955.
Doren, Van Mark, ed. The Portable Walt Whitman. England: Penguin
books, 1984.
Dwivedie, A.N, Walt Whitman The Poet. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot,
n.d.
Murdra, S,C. a Reader's Guide to American Literature. Bareilly: Parakash
Book Depot, n.d.
……………."Song
of
the
Open
Road":
"Summery
and
Comment"
(URL://http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/whitman/section10.rhtml)
Retrieved (11th, July, 2008).
Sastan, P.S, Walt Whitman Selected Poem. Agra: Lakshmi Noria A Garwal,
n.d.
Tilak, Raghukul. Walt Whitman Selected Poems. (New Delhi: Roma
Brother India PTV.LTD., 2006).
………………"Whitman's Poetry".(URL:http:// www. Sparknotes.com,
(Whitman/ analysis.html/) Retrieved (11th, July, 2008).