Wednesday, June 22, 2022

A Note on Whitman’s poem “Passage to India”

 

                    




                                  

  
Whitman wrote this poem in 1871 and was included in the collection “Leaves of Grass” of 1871, 1872 and 1876 editions and after some revision in 1881 edition. Like John Masefield’s poem “Sea-Fever” and Whitman’s “Song of the open road”, this poem is about a journey to an undefined destination. In “Questions of Travel” (1965), Elizabeth Bishop argues with herself about the pros and cons of travelling.

 In this poem the poet commemorates the modern scientific marvels that enabled mankind to communicate and travel without any difficulty. In 1869 the laying of the American Transcontinental Railroad connected the country from East to West.  Six months later the Suez Canal was opened to join the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea to facilitate transportation and trade between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa.  Whitman saw the opening of the Suez Canal as both a reason for celebrating and also as an opportunity to connect with spiritual traditions of the faraway lands.  This poem was divided into nine sections of varying lengths. The poet celebrates the scientific achievements that made the Canal possible and also the esoteric wisdom that could imagine such possibilities and the new era of worldliness and peace that might come of it.  Inspired by this poem E.M.Forster wrote his novel “A Passage to India” in 1924.


This poem describes an imaginary journey that the speaker wants to take into fabled India. This poem begins with the description of the new marvels of the modern world- the Suez Canal and the great American Railway and Transatlantic cable. He looks upon India as a mysterious and fabled place that rejuvenates his soul. He will return to the birthplace of mankind and feel renewed for the rest of his life. Whitman celebrates the scientific achievements that made the Suez Canal possible and the new era of worldliness and peace that might come of it. He attributes the canal to both science (proud truths of the world) and myth (fables of the old). Though it is a feat of engineering, it is also a triumph of the human imagination. The facts of modern science are not enough to explain the project’s completion. He expresses admiration for both “proud truths of science” and “fables of the eld” and “far darting beams of the spirit”, “deep diving bibles and legends” and “the daring plots of the poets.” He extends praise to Eastern and African Bibles, religious places and temples as much as the Western ones. In his view every perspective is worth celebrating and he wishes to convey a sense of inclusiveness everywhere.

 

To him India is a metaphor for the larger possibilities that opens up humanity to expand and explore the mysteries of divinity and Nature. He is interested in the future as well as in the past. He also speaks about the value of myths and fables which are as important as science. He thinks that modern inventions and technology will help in bringing mankind together and foster a sense of brotherhood and unity. There will be a unity between nature and man. There has to be “a marriage of continents, climates and oceans.”

 

The passage to India is not an easy one. Many have died on the way. But it will not deter him from undertaking the voyage. The pull of exploration is like a current running through human race and he is a part of it and he wants to feel connectivity of the earth. The speaker also takes time to mourn the death of the downfall of men like Columbus who ended their lives unhappily. He imagines that he is on this important journey with his soul and the two of them are circumnavigating the earth together. While the voyage might seem to be terrifying, he is protected by God.

 

 In the first section the poet highlights the achievements of the present time. At the same time, he admires the myths and fables and the daring plots of the ancient poets. “For what is the present after all but a growth out of the past?”



In the second section the poet celebrates the past. It is described as the teeming gulf and the infinite greatness. The poet praises the ancient fables, the daring plots of the poets, myths, temples and dazzling towers burnished with gold. Behind these present and past wonders, the poet sees God’s purpose in bringing together different races together.  The poet praises the engineers, architects and voyagers who made these technological marvels a reality. He worships them for their works and for the way in which they have helped to complete God’s plan. 

 

In the third section he describes the activities and technological exploration in digging the Suez Canal, launching of steam ships, dredging machines and laying of Transcontinental Rail Road in connecting “the Eastern to the Western Sea” and “the road between Europe and Asia”. The oceans are meant to be crossed and the distant lands to be brought nearer. He describes the opening of the Suez Canal and the Pacific Road (which joins Union Pacific and Central Pacific Rail Road) and the Transatlantic Cable which connects various countries for transportation and communication. In this context, he remembers the tragic death of Columbus, the sailor from Geneva, who dreamt of exploring new lands. The falsehoods talked about him by others led to his poverty, dejection and death.


 In the fourth section he describes the journey on the Suez Canal on a steamship. From deck he can see Egypt and the workmen who are still building the gigantic machines that were used to dredge the canal. In another tableau he describes the Pacific Railroad and the locomotives crossing the deserts, meadows, plains and farms and mountains in the distance.  He remembers the valiant adventures of voyagers like Vasco De Gama who discovered new lands and gave knowledge about those new territories. He praises him as the rondure (star) of the world who accomplished a noble purpose. He wants all types of people to intermingle, marry and become neighbours.


In the fifth section the speaker tells exploration runs like a rivulet through time. It sinks and rises but it is always there. Knowledge will be gained, new lands found and new nations born as America was. He praises scientists, inventors, explorer and poets who tried to satisfy the human thirst for knowledge and justify the divine purpose of bringing people together. “Nature and man shall be disjoined and diffused no more”/ “The true son of God shall absolutely fuse them.”


 In the sixth section he elaborates his imaginary journey through world from Europe to Asia and Africa”. “Year of the purpose accomplished/ Year of the marriage of continents and oceans”. He refers to the digging of the Suez Canal (1869) and laying of Transatlantic Undersea Cable (1866) and construction of Transcontinental Railway Line(1869) which changed the means of communication and transport. He refers to ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, China and India and exploits of ancient historical leaders like Alexander, Tamerlane, Aurangzeb and travellers like Marco Polo and Columbus. The poet sees the East as a return to “the soothing cradle of man” where everything began. There are doubts to be solved and blanks to be filled and men will never rest.

 

 In the seventh section he addresses his soul to prepare for exploring the East, the land of wisdom’s. In the seventh section he is hoping to see not only lands but also a clear freshness of mind. He wants to mellow his young mind with “the realms of budding bibles”. It is a voyage of the mind seeking to return where it came from” back to wisdom’s birth.” 

 In the eighth section he reiterates his wish to sail on “trackless seas” where he and others can sing of their “song of God.” While travelling the sailors will laugh and kiss while others left on the shore will be stuck in “sin, remorse and humiliation.” Exploration is ingrained in humankind. He addresses the nations who lost that zest for exploration. He calls them “sad shades”. “The sunset of splendour of chivalry declining”.

 During his voyage he will gain wisdom and pleasure from his soul and contemplate on “Time, space and death.” His spirit will search for God (the Comrade perfect who is the motive of this whole universe and vast space. He identifies his soul greater than stars and suns and encourages his soul to cross the unknown seas and melt in the arms of the Elder Brother (God) with love and friendship. His spirit will be bathed in God and his soul will be lifted to God-like proportions. He imagines a time in the future that after his travels, he will be able to help others. He will be filled with friendship like an elder brother. that after his travels.

 

 In the ninth section he questions his readiness to undertake such a voyage. He is pining for the danger that awaits on new lands and on waters in which many were unable to pass. He reiterates the emotional and spiritual reasons for his travelling to India. It is a passage to more than India. He wishes to explore the mysteries of unknown lands, seas, creeks, rivers, woods and mountains, stars, sun and moon. He has stood long enough like a tree in a static state. He is too much engaged in earthly activities. “Have we not grovelled here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?” It is time to forget about the books and to sail forth. Like the explorers of the olden times, he is bound for places that have never been visited. No matter how far they go, the voyage will be safe as it is conducted on the seas of God.

 

 Thus, Whitman here blends transcendentalism with realistic elements. His journey is not mere a physical journey. It is a symbolic spiritual journey to India which represents esoteric knowledge, mythical fables, and philosophical lore that helps in bringing mankind together. He also appreciates the advancement in technology which serves the same purpose for bringing unity and brotherhood.

 

In this poem Whitman used long rhythmic, unmetered and unrhymed lines with the cadence of natural speech. It is communicated with loftiness and reverence. Each line ends with an exclamation mark to build up excitement and to express joy. He used repetition for emphasis. Just as the Suez Canal links the distant parts of the world, Whitman’s poem links religions and modern technology and engineering. In doing so he encourages us to see a bright future for mankind. He uses diction which includes foreign words and archaic vocabulary here and there to indicate that he transcends the barriers of time and space. “O vast Rondure, swimming in space.” (Rondure means spherical or round in shape). “But myths and tables of eld, Asia’s and Africa’s fables” (Eld, an archaism for old). “Eclaircise the myths Asiatic, the primitive fables”. (Eclaircise means reveal obscure facts).


 According to David Reynolds, “Passage to India” can be seen as a questioning of the materialistic values of the gilded age. Whitman in his later poems extolled the virtues of industry and workforce though he was not entirely comfortable with America’s growing materialism. According to Stanley Coffman, Whitman uses the images of passage to connect the past with the present, the present with the future and project a metamorphosis from earthly experience to that of spiritual level. Betsey Erkkila sees the repudiation of materialistic values and an aspiring towards spiritual transcendence. According to her Whitman found his ideal merger of the explorer of the physical world and the religious prophet in the figure of Columbus. “The poet becomes the spiritual heir of Columbus. As the poet-explorer, he could praise both individualism and national unity.”

                         *****************************

 

          22nd June, 2022                        Somaseshu Gutala












   

 

 

 

                   

 


Friday, June 10, 2022

IN BETWEEN

                  

                               

1.         Thy ways so strange and weird seem

      You lift our souls to jump with joy to scream;

      You hurl us down to depths of gloom and despair

      Why so sudden change? Is it fair?

      A mixed web of pleasure and pain

      A gift of beneficence or disdain?

 

2.         You give us a taste of heavenly bliss

      In warmth of mother’s closest kiss;

      You give us sportive mirth and merry play

      With friendly company jovial and gay;

      A phase of golden years with no burdens and load

      Childhood, a smooth and care-free road.

 

3.         You fired our fancy to unreachable heights

     You plan our path so rough and not so straight;

     So many hurdles test our struggling mind

     So many challenges, our goal too hard to find;

     Very few lucky ones their goals attain

     Others retreat wounded, deep-struck with pain.

 

4.         Our fancy runs riot beyond our reason’s range

     Our vision seems blurred, vague and strange;

     We chase shadows hare-brained with foolish grit

     Till we lose their grip and concede defeat;

     A waste of time and resources, a thing of past;

     Our dreams melt down in factual day at last.

 

5.         Our burdens increase with growing age

     Our ways appear like labyrinthine maze;

     Our youthful dreams, like stars beyond our hold

     Our inner drive slows down as we turn old.

     Why such regressive dissolution?

     Is there no ultimate solution?

 

6.        A series of sharp and uneven ups and downs

    We swell with joy on crests of success to drown

    Into dark depths, a sudden reversal of fate;

    Till yesteryears so great, now destitute, a spate

    Of hurdles to test and crush our pride;

    We feel rebuffed by Time’s unexpected stride.

 

7.        We swing between extremes of ice and fire

     No time to acclimatize to realms so dire

     Like Lucifer in livid burning spires;

     We are thrown into realms with frozen desires;

     What do we gain from these swift changes in life?

     What do we lose from this uncertain strife?

 

8.         How odd and incomprehensible display!

     Sages ascribe this to Thy sportive play;

     So many tender blooms cut off in prime

     While suffering lives survive beyond their time;

     For these worldly tensions where is the end?

     You seem to exult in unforeseen turns and bends. 

 

9.         Injustice seems to flourish day by day

         While honesty beggared collapses on the way;

     While corruption rules free and total power wields

     Transgressing rules forcing common people to yield

     Why this discrimination and why so mute?

     Can’t Time punish these inhuman brutes?

 

10.     Our sense-bound reason can’t unfold Thy maze;

     Time’s mysterious ways beyond our gaze;

     Our faltering steps guided by forces unseen

     To burn our passions and make our minds serene;

      Meanwhile we pray to Thee to purify our minds;

      Let us not lose our faith, Master Gracious and Kind!

 

                *****************************


     10th June, 2022                     Somaseshu Gutala

     

 

 

        

 

      

 

 

  

 

            

     

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

WHAT IS YOURS?

                                


 

              

 1.    What is yours now belonged to others

         And what is yours now will go to somebody else;

         None can see destiny’s pulse

         And what happens to you, who bothers?

         Our lives insignificant specks in endless tide

         Of time which batters our ego and pride.

 

2.      The tender bloom of childhood which you had

          Melted like dew with growing years;

          No more can you feel those innocent smiles and tears;

          You lost those realms of golden fantasies so glad

          What an unbridgeable gap between you and that child!

          Your mind, no more like blossoms fresh and wild.

 

3.       Through turbulent youth a few blunders you made

           Thy age, an excuse to act with renewed delight;

           None blamed thy negligence and none did slight;

           Like happy dreams of night, they slip away and fade;

           Those lovely forgiving intimate ties

           You can’t find now and Time so quickly flies.

 

4.     You flaunted your vigour in reckless youth

        You rambled free gloating on luxuries full;

        You yielded thoughtless to temptations’ pull;

        You spared no time to think of vital truths;

        You cared little about consequences in store

        In worldly joys you sank down more and more.

 

5.    As family burdens with age did bend you down

       Your cuckoo dreams swept off like dust

       In gust of worldly ways and passion’s thirst;

       Must yield to burdens you have to bear

       The thrust of your deeds with others you cannot share.

 

6.   As old age looms, your strength slowly wanes

       You have to pay for your wayward ways past;

       Your youth and beauty have to yield at any cost;

       Your status and power cannot retard or restrain

       No more can you indulge in pleasures vain

       You spend a lot on medical bills, but can’t complain. 

 

7.   Your splendour, glory, wealth and power

       Vanish in a flash just like a dream

       No more can you wield authority supreme;

      Your bonds of which you boast tumble like a tower;

      The cloud of uncertainty hangs before

      The effects of change you can resist no more.

 

8.   Just like leaves in winter turn sick-pale and fade

      Old age weakens our limbs and brain as well;

      A gradual change and how it happens none can foretell

      Our worldly possessions, mere dancing shades;

      So many unforeseen complaints attack our health

      Our past vicious habits, like thieves, impact in stealth.

 

9.   Our closest kin depart to leave mere memories past

      Our dearest bonds will not forever last;

      Even our dearest children have to live apart

      To shoulder their own tasks at any cost;

      What happens to your family’s privilege and pride

      When they act free and not by rules abide? 

 

10.  In tide of time of what you assume as yours

       Turns weak, wrinkled and not so well it seems;

       Irreversible change you cannot redeem;

       Your body loses its vital force and living powers;

       What you assume as yours-nothing remains at last

       Your power and wealth all gone; tell me, what is yours?

                            ********************

         31st May, 2022                     Somaseshu Gutala

  


 

 

 

 

       

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

When I touch Thy holy feet

                                   

       


           When I touch Thy holy feet

            I feel myself in heaven’s embrace;

            When I touch Thy holy feet

            I feel the blissful kiss of paradise;

            When I touch Thy holy feet 

            I find myself in the lap of Elysium;

           When I touch Thy holy feet

            I feel delight in my bosom’s beat;

            When I touch Thy holy feet

           I feel a thousand springs blossom within;

           When I touch Thy holy feet

           I feel all my worries dissolve in a trice;

          When I touch Thy holy feet

          I feel all my lost treasure found;

          When I touch Thy holy feet

          A thousand rain-bows unfold before my eyes;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

          I feel mother’s coolest comforting grace;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         I feel rejuvenation of my spirits;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         I feel the support of Thy blessed hand;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         I feel unburthened of all my griefs;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         My soul flows out in flooding tears of joy;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         My soul floats free like a swan in the sky;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         My heart throbs with penitential tears;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         I forget my failures and frustrations;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         I feel too deep to voice my immense joy;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         My soul dances like a pea-cock in showers;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         My soul is inspired to write paeans of thy glory;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         My soul with thine doth seem to meet;

         When I touch Thy holy feet

         I feel thy grace and blessings sweet.

                *********************


     18th May, 2022                    Somaseshu Gutala

       

 

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

You have chosen

 







                                   

 1)       You have chosen your way—no chance to go away

           Now or before-- you cannot go astray;

           No more excuses to jump out of this fray;

           Your way studded with blooms or thorns spread

          “You have to tread” my conscience sternly said.

 

2)       Time’s twists and turns we can’t unfold

           What we hope for, not within our fold;

           Rushing events, we can’t withhold;

           We have to face whether we wish or not

           We have to accept our destined lot.

 

3)        Once you release, you can’t withdraw

            The darts of your actions, a rigid law;

            Like the ripples unfold your lapses and flaws;

            The hounds of Karma chase you wherever you stay;

            Whatever you do or think, you have to pay.

 

4)       “You need not hesitate—you need not fear

            No use of blaming and shedding tears”

            A voice whispered and brought me cheer;

            I know; Thou art the never-failing source

            Of all this creation, Mighty Force!

 

5)        Thou art the Lord of all this universe

            Thy laws may seem mysterious and terse

            Our destiny appears so harsh, we curse;

            Our acts boomerang with vengeful deal

            Our past we can’t recall; dejected we feel.

 

6)        A trivial speck I am in this universe vast

            Give me strong faith and patience steadfast

            To mend myself and make up for what is lost;

            Thy firm support and grace my only need;

            Let my bosom be free from grief and greed. 

 

7)        So many times, you told your devotees, Lord!

            To leave our worries and end our discord;

             Saviour Thou art, All-bearing mighty God!

             Set us free from cares and give us solace;

             Clear our confusion and live in peaceful ways.

 

8)          Let me not fall into temptations vain   

             The pull of brutal passions, let me restrain

             Let me be not the cause for other’s pain;

             Let me trust Thee and equanimity maintain

             Lead me unscathed, through stress and strain.

                     ***************************

Ref :  “Quickly they become virtuous and attain lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that no devotee of mine is ever lost.” ---

                   Bhagavadgita (Raja Vidya Yog, Verse 31)


   3rd May, 2022                                    Somaseshu Gutala

 

       

 

           

 

 

 

        

        

Saturday, April 16, 2022

A Note on Walt Whitman's Poetry

                        

                

Walt Whitman is acknowledged as the national poet of America who paved a new way both in verse form and style. He wrote about American people, American landscape and American way of life. He celebrated the individual values, democracy, everyday life, Nature, love and friendship in his poems. His work chanted praises to the body as well as to the soul. He found beauty and reassurance even in death since in his view even death is a stage in the cycle of life. He treats death as a door that opens the passage from one world to another allowing for life to re-start and perpetuate its eternal cycle. 

Whitman was born on 31st may, 1819 in Huntington, Long Island. At the age of eleven he left school and went to work as an office boy, as a teacher, as helper in a printing press and later as a journalist. He spent much of his career in Brooklyn. He started his career as a poet in 1855 by publishing his first volume of twelve poems as “Leaves of grass.” He described the realistic and darker aspects of society like war, murder and fear. He encouraged his readers to strive for their life without falling back on someone. Later he revised nine times almost till his death in 1892, adding nearly three hundred poems. During American Civil war, he went to work in Washington D.C. as a nurse to help wounded soldiers. After a stroke towards the end of his life Whitman moved to Camden, New jersey where he later died.

 Whitman wanted to create an original, distinctly American form and style that would better embody the American voice, identity and ethos to mirror the primary values of American culture. He wrote in free verse because most of his subjects are common man and beauty in common life. In free verse there are no style restrictions. There is lack of rhyme and strict meter. It follows natural cadence and rhythms of the language. It is a verse paragraph with no standard of line length. He chose free verse form as it is a flexible medium to portray the life of common man, and common life. Moreover, it breaks away from conventional verse form and embodies democratic spirit and original approach. According to James Perrin Warren the most important techniques in Whitman’s verse are use of syntactic parallels, repetition and cataloguing.

 About Whitman's work, “Leaves of grass” Emerson said, “it was the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America had contributed.” Whitman was very much influenced by the Civil War and he described his war experiences in “Drum taps” (1865) and in “Sequel to Drum Taps” and also in his prose work “Specimen days” (1882-1883). In his work “Sequel to Drum-Taps” he wrote famous poems like “Pioneers! O Pioneers!”, “When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloomed”. In 1871 he wrote three essays entitled “Democratic vistas” where he expressed his views about the role of democracy in establishing a new cultural foundation for America. 

In “Song of myself” Whitman emphasized the role of democracy and the oneness of mankind cutting across the artificial barriers of race, religion, colour, status and professions.  His poem, “Song of myself” takes the reader on an epic journey through many settings, time periods and viewpoints. This poem delineates Whitman’s ideas about America, democracy, nature, sexuality, the intimate connection between soul and body, the role of friendship and sexuality in a candid and clear way. Whitman was criticized for his frank and outspoken views about sexuality and description of obscene things in this poem and also in his work “Calamus” where he was accused of homosexual leanings. In “Song of myself” Whitman projected his transcendentalist view of the common soul of mankind and the universal self. This poem has fifty-two sections running about seventy pages.

 In his poem “Passage to India’ (1870) Whitman describes an imaginary journey to India, the ancient land, where he can feel rejuvenation of his soul and return to the birthplace of mankind. The poet uses his journey as a symbolic exploration of the past, expansion and the future. He also reveals the importance of myths and fables in shaping the future of mankind and guiding him on the right path. In another poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” Whitman interprets the movement of people riding on ferry as the spiritual unity of men in the world.  He shows the ferry as a bridge connecting the present and future. He also expresses profound love for cities, rivers and people. 

In “Out of the cradle endlessly rocking”(1860) Whitman shows the transformation of  a boy into a poet through his experience of love and death. Using the images like bird, boy and sea the poet shows the relationship between Nature, art and suffering. It shows how a boy matures into a poet by listening to the tragic notes of a bird whose mate has been killed. From the noisy waves of the sea, he listened to the voice of death which is a kind of release form stress and strain.

 In the poem “I hear America singing” (1860) the poet presents an idealized vision of American life. The poet moves from cities to villages covering various aspects and professions of people to build a portrait of America which includes each individual. It is like the various notes of music which make up a symphony. The poem celebrates the self-sufficiency and individualism through” these varied carols.” Lastly the poet expressed his patriotic feelings and his love for Abraham Lincoln in poems like “O Captain! My captain”, “When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloomed” and “Hushed be the camps today.”

 As a romantic poet, he glorified nature, common man, nationalism and the supernatural element. At the same time, he blended realistic and transcendental aspects in his poetry.  Sometimes he very frank and did not care for decency and propriety. His poetry is often described as lyric nationalism. As the greatest poet of democracy, he had faith in the inherent dignity and nobility of common man. In his view all men and women are equal and all professions are equally honourable.  

His poetry gives a kaleidoscopic view of American culture and the ideals of that country. He championed the democratic ideals of America and glorified the life of common man and the diverse professions. He fused the traditional as well as the modern scientific developments; he fused the rural and the urban aspects of life and projected a global vision of the future man. He called America as “the centre of equal daughters, equal sons” who are “strong, ample, fair and capable”. He encouraged readers to strive for their life without falling back on others. He added everyday scenes in his poems and emphasized on individualism, reasonable patriotism, love and patriotism. 

Whitman revised his masterpiece “Leaves of grass” considered as the national epic of America nine times in which he celebrated nature, democracy, love, body. Soul and friendship. He is treated as successor to Homer, Virgil, Dante and Shakespeare as he gave a comprehensive view of American life and culture and elevated the role of the poet to that of   universal bard transcending the boundaries of nation, race, creeds and religion. Whitman abandoned the metrical tradition of accentual syllabic verse and adopted the prosody of the English Bible. Harold Bloom called “Leaves of Grass” as “secular scripture of the United States.” Whitman combined spontaneous, prosaic rhythms with incantatory repetition he found in the Old Testament. He tried to show the unity and diversity of the rich and varied American culture by choosing flexible, free verse.

Whitman widened the possibilities of poetic diction by including slang, colloquialisms, Americanism, foreign phrases and regional dialects instead of using stiff, erudite and conventional language. He broadened the thematic range by describing myriad subjects such as everyday life, democracy, growth of America, celebration of individual, attitude towards life and death. He even included obscene and ugly aspects of life since in his view everything in creation has its own identity and value. He introduced unusual and previously forbidden subjects-sexuality, human body and debris. He emphasized the present things and everyday scenery. The image of the most realistic America is present throughout his poetry. Whitman said,” The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.” Whitman believed,” Poetry is a form of knowledge, the supreme wisdom of mankind.” To him God is both immanent and transcendent.  Whitman was a religious sceptic. The human soul is immortal and is in a state of progressive development. As Ezra Pound called Whitman “America’s poet… He is America.”

        "I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
         And what I assume you shall assume,
        For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."
                                       (Song of Myself") --1892.

             ***********************************

       16th April, 2022                 Somaseshu Gutala