Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Chapter 25 explained
The narrator asserts the power of the self over language and the sun, claiming an inner radiance and prophetic voice that transcends speech and writing, ultimately refusing to be defined or contained by articulation.
What happens
The narrator asserts the power of the self over language and the sun, claiming an inner radiance and prophetic voice that transcends speech and writing, ultimately refusing to be defined or contained by articulation.
Themes in this chapter
Individuality and Self
The narrator asserts an uncontainable self that transcends speech and writing, refusing to be defined or encompassed.
The Poet as Prophet and Unifier
The narrator's 'prophetical screams' and claim to underlying causes position the poet as a visionary who balances all things.
Unity of Soul and Body
The soul is found in the calm of daybreak, and the self's 'live parts' keep tally with the meaning of all things, merging physical and spiritual.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
Proclaims the self as dazzling and tremendous, sending sunrise from within, and refuses to be encompassed by speech or writing.
- Walt Whitman
Addressed directly by speech, told he contains enough and should let it out; the narrator's identity is intertwined with Whitman.
- Death
Implied as the sun-rise that would kill the narrator if not balanced by inner radiance.
Key passages
“Dazzling and tremendous how quick the sun-rise would kill me, If I could not now and always send sun-rise out of me.”
The sunrise would overwhelm me if I could not constantly radiate my own inner light.
The narrator claims an inner power equal to nature's force.
“My voice goes after what my eyes cannot reach, With the twirl of my tongue I encompass worlds and volumes of worlds.”
My speech reaches beyond sight, and with a twist of my tongue I embrace entire universes.
Language is portrayed as a tool to grasp the infinite.
“Writing and talk do not prove me, I carry the plenum of proof and everything else in my face, With the hush of my lips I wholly confound the skeptic.”
Words and writing cannot validate me; my very presence and silence are sufficient to baffle doubters.
The self's essence is beyond articulation.