A Short Note On Walt Whitman’s Poem “The Commonplace”

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was the first American poet to pronounce a declaration of independence against conventional forms of poetry. For him, poetry should be the natural expression of simple and natural people in a simple and natural language. He doesn’t like to use the regular meter or rhyme in his poems. His great love for America can be reflected in his poems, which often showed strong Americanism and pride in the common man. His volume, Leaves of Grass, from which the following poem is taken, is one of his most famous poems:
The commonplace I sing;
How cheap is health! how cheap nobility!
Abstinence, no falsehood, no gluttony, lust;
The open air I sing, freedom, toleration,
(Take here the mainest lesson–less from books–less from the schools,)
The common day and night–the common earth and waters,
Your farm–your work, trade, occupation,
The democratic wisdom underneath, like solid ground for all.
I love Whitman for this very reason. His poetry is alive! It has an almost seething breath, which I adore. Great highlight of an exceptional writer.
LikeLike
Thank you very much for sharing your views on Walt Whitman. Many believed that Whitman was America’s first democratic poet and has great respect for the freedom of the individual self.
LikeLiked by 1 person