Analysis of Walt Whitman's "A Song of Joys"

Walt Whitman's "A Song of Joys" is a very happy poem about all the wonderful things that life has to offer. As pointed out by Charles Oliver, Whitman represents life and leaves in the following lines (Oliver):

"O to make the most jubilant song!
Full of music—full of manhood, womanhood, infancy!
Full of common employments—full of grain and trees (Whitman)."

In the last line of this excerpt Whitman sums up what most of his literary work is about. Grain is used to represent life, because it is the way in which people are fed and given sustenance. Trees are the representation of leaves which are very important and prominent in Whitman's poems, especially because the name of his collection is called "Leaves of Grass."

Whitman also covers the Everyman in this poem by referencing all different types of people (Whitman). He references the drivers of locomotives, horsemen and horsewomen, firemen, fighters, mothers, fishermen, boaters, miners, soldiers, orators, whalemen, and farmers. He references the joys that are accompanied by each of these professions and how exciting it would be to participate in them. He speaks about each one with a certain kind of wistfulness that is beautiful and wonderful (Whitman). It seems as though he is romanticizing the work of even the most laborious jobs and things. In this way his optimism shines steadily through.

He also makes references to all sorts of wildlife and nature in his poem. He talks about different types of fish that one would find in the rivers and about the voices of all the animals in the world (Whitman).

In this poem Whitman discusses everything you can possibly think of and puts a beautiful spin to it. Even death is not left untouched in his optimistic whirlwind. He talks about the joys of thinking about death (Whitman). He references the feeling of dying as a gentle touch, and then he talks about how his body will figure out the "great spheres of time and space (Whitman)." To me this line suggests a hint of spirituality in the idea of the heavens and space.

Spirituality is hinted at mainly in Whitman's lines about Death in this poem. The folowing lines illustrate my point:

"Myself discharging my excrementitious body to be burn'd, or
render'd to powder, or buried,
My real body doubtless left to me for other spheres,
My voided body nothing more to me, returning to the purifications,
further offices, eternal uses of the earth (Whitman)."

In these lines Whitman is talking about how his physical body will break back down to become part of the earth yet again and be used for whatever the earth needs. Yet he says that his real body will leave him for other spheres. I believe this is a reference to his spirit or soul going on to his afterlife. As his body is left behind here on the earth, his soul goes on to live in heaven, because he believes in the Christian faith. This belief in an afterlife is a common thread found in a lot of Whitman's poems and is a clear indication of his belief in a higher power beyond our sight. By talking about the wonder that one will find in the afterlife, he is able to make even Death look like something to be excited about.

Selected Bibliography

Oliver, Charles M. "'A Song of Joys'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW436&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 1, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "A Song of Joys." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .