I Hear America Singing.
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe
and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off
work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deck-
hand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing
as he stands,
The woodcutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morn-
ing, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe
and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off
work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deck-
hand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing
as he stands,
The woodcutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morn-
ing, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
This poem demonstrates that the carpenter, boatman, shoemaker, woodcutter, mason workers (the hard workers) are the ones that contribute the American culture. The American culture is all about the value of hard work; the way that hard work can lead to a better life. This poem shows that everyone working hard has a place in life by "singing what belongs to him or her and to none else". Whitman shows his life of America in this poem. In your opinion does this poem actually reflects what the American culture/life is all about?
I think that this poem represents that a "perfect" image of america. It demonstrates the classic american concepts of hard work and individual merit, but doesn't depict any negitive aspects of America. We just did reading about industrialization and how horrible working conditions and the lives of the workers were, so for the poem to truly reflect America I think it would need to show some negatives as well.
ReplyDeletepoems and literature such as this really helps better internalize the information, thank you and your analysis on the poem is very insightful especially how America's foundations are built upon hard work which leading to results.
ReplyDeleteI was looking back over some old posts and came across this one. What caught my attention was your question about whether this poem actually reflects what the American culture/life is all about. Not long ago we finished reading The Great Gatsby in english class, a book which focused largely on the definition of the American Dream and whether that mindset benefits society or not.
ReplyDeleteThis poem seems to focus only on a portion of society, the hard working class. For this reason it is hard to label it as representative of the entire American culture or way of life. The way the poem depicts happy workers singing as they work is a part of the American Dream because it represents the common belief that life is easy in America. The poem however does not address any other socio-economic levels of people nor people of different races, and what life was like for them. For this reason I would also have to say that it fails to draw as accurate a picture of american live and culture as it would have.