# Democracy and the Bard of Personality explained — Leaves of Grass

> Chapter companion for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

## What happens

The narrator declares a new poetic mission to sing for democracy, celebrating the body and soul equally, embracing sexuality, death, and the perfection of the universe, and asserting the unity of all things through the soul.

## Themes in this chapter

### Democracy and Equality

The poet sings for democracy, asserting the equality of male and female and the value of all people.

### Sexuality and the Body

The poet vows to sing of sexual organs and acts with courageous clarity, celebrating them as illustrious.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The voice proclaiming a new kind of poetry for democracy and personality.

### Democracy

Addressed directly as the audience for the poet's songs.

### Death

Mentioned as a beautiful event, no imperfection in the present or future.

## Key lines

> I will make the true poem of riches, To earn for the body and the mind whatever adheres and goes forward and is not dropt by death

I will create a poem that truly enriches both body and mind, capturing what persists beyond death.

_The poet redefines wealth as spiritual and intellectual permanence._

> And I will show that there is no imperfection in the present, and can be none in the future

I will demonstrate that the present is flawless and the future cannot be otherwise.

_A radical assertion of optimism and the inherent goodness of existence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/12
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters