Walt Whitman

Melanie Freeman
English 48B
March 10, 2009
Walt Whitman: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Born in West Hills, Long Island in 1819, Walt Whitman is remembered as the most influential American poet of all time. Breaking rules and tradition that had regulated poets throughout history, Whitman created a style of poetry that is distinctly American. Whitman wrote solely in free verse, which rejected the formalist, pattern and rhyming poetry. This unregulated style in combination with his more human, natural topics, made poetry that was descriptive of the average, working American. Whitman, who started his literary career as a journalist, wrote about things that he saw. Living in Manhattan, Whitman witnessed crime, poverty, and sexuality, all topics that revolutionized poetry of the time. Similar to Mark Twain, Whitman created a rougher style of writing that is perfectly representative of the world he existed in: an industrializing United States.

"And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose" (21).

Summary:
Crossing Brookyln Ferry, was first published in the second edition of Leaves of Grass in 1856. This collection of poetry was an organic work that was under constant revision throughout Whitman's career. This poem appeared in the final "death bed" version of Leaves of Grass and is very significant to remembering Whitman's origins. Whitman surely crossed the river on this ferry many times in his life and this poem is an example of his talent for obersvation and thoughts on human existance.

Response:
Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry is written from the perspective of a man who has died and is looking back on his life. Written later in his literary career, it is clear Whitman has gained insight into life as an older man and is sharing his thoughts and experiences with younger generations.

In this poem, Whitman describes a common experience that creates very deep meaning. By describing the crossing of the ferry, Whitman writes about the connection between generations of human beings. He writes that as humans, we are all more alike than we think and that he has shared similar experiences and feelings with each one of us.

In the years that follow, thousands of people will cross on this ferry, sharing feelings of guilt and isolation, but in the scheme of life, Whitman believes, this is insignificant. Whitman belives humans will follow similar patterns throughout history and that human nature remains consistent. Human's naturally tend to mentally alienate themselves during times of stress or sadness, but in reality these feelings are what defines us as humans.

Whitman, the narrator of this poem and someone who appears to be speaking from the grave, feels that he understands people and life now that he has experienced it. He finds connections between people that we as humans are unable to percieve until after death. Whitman describes that all aspects of life "were to [him] the same as they are to [everyone else]" (23), to show that life is a shared experience and that humans are all existing as a part of a greater universe.