I Hear America Singing

“I HEAR AMERICA SINGING”

“ I Hear America Singing” is an American poem written by Walt Whitman. Growing up in Long Island, dropping out of school at the young age of eleven, and having other jobs at that young age, Whitman had became one of the most important poets in American history. As a boy Whitman spent his weekends at the beach and in the woods, this had thought he more about literature and later on found out he had a talent for observation and journaling. Those were important to his style of writing, “free verse” Free verse was a style that had been born by eliminating all the rules the British had set on poetry. It was more of a “write however you feel like writing” style. Not only that but Whitman wrote his poems as if he were listing things. He had felt the need to list what he had seen and put meaning between them. Whitman had a simplistic way of writing but yet with a deeper insight you can find a message in his poems. He usually wrote about the things he felt were important to him and the things he loved. For example in this specific poem he is writing about America and how he views what America is.

In this poem he writes that he sees America singing as they are doing they’re jobs. “ I hear America singing, the varied carols, I hear” he states in the text. In this statement I believe that he is literally saying he hears America singing. Not actually singing like those musicals but the work they are doing is making a noise and all together they are in harmony. For example in the statement “ Each singing what belongs to him or her and no one else”, is saying that each one of them have different jobs. Thus meaning with everyone having their own job and the noises coming from it, its as if they are all one and creating a tune that synchronizes with each other.

This poem was written after the civil war, where the nation was just coming back together after a fight that had divided America apart. The country is at the part where the people...