I Sing the Body Electric

“I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman (1860)

“I Hear America Singing” is one of Whitman’s most widely known poems. As with “I Sing the Body Electric,” this poem celebrates everyday, working-class Americans, glorifying work and nation-building. It includes references to the value of women and a variety of different kinds of laborers, but it does not reference enslaved people or slavery. It relies on repetition and makes use of the word “sing” to signify celebration and harmony of a collective.

“O Pioneers! O Pioneers!” by Walt Whitman (1865)

In this poem, Whitman celebrates the pioneers, moving westward to settle the land on behalf of the European-descended, new Americans. The pioneers would have faced hardships and danger and would have been required to endure physical deprivation and long hours of manual labor to create new houses, towns, cities, etc. This poem glorifies bravery, self-sufficiency, and the ethics around work. As with Section 5 of “I Sing the Body Electric,” in which Whitman describes an idealized farmer, this poem demonstrates an idealized version of pioneers settling the West through their determination, hard work, and bravery.

“O Captain, My Captain” by Walt Whitman (1865)