Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Chapter 38 explained
The narrator awakens from a stunned, dreamlike state, rejecting the memory of mockery, insults, and crucifixion.
What happens
The narrator awakens from a stunned, dreamlike state, rejecting the memory of mockery, insults, and crucifixion. He reclaims his power, joins an unending procession, and calls upon his students to continue their work.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Immortality
The narrator speaks of graves, corpses rising, and gashes healing, suggesting a transcendence of death and a renewal of life.
Individuality and Self
The narrator rediscovers himself on the verge of a mistake, then reclaims his identity and power, joining an unending procession.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Enough! enough! enough! Somehow I have been stunn’d. Stand back! Give me a little time beyond my cuff’d head, slumbers, dreams, gaping, I discover myself on the verge of a usual mistake.”
I have been overwhelmed and need a moment to recover. I realize I was about to make a common error.
The narrator acknowledges his stunned state and the need for pause to avoid a mistake.
“I remember now, I resume the overstaid fraction, The grave of rock multiplies what has been confided to it, or to any graves, Corpses rise, gashes heal, fastenings roll from me.”
I recall and take up what was left behind. The rocky grave amplifies what is entrusted to it; the dead rise, wounds heal, and my bonds fall away.
The narrator reclaims his past and describes a resurrection-like transformation.
“I troop forth replenish’d with supreme power, one of an average unending procession, Inland and sea-coast we go, and pass all boundary lines, Our swift ordinances on their way over the whole earth, The blossoms we wear in our hats the growth of thousands of years.”
I march forward renewed with great power, part of an endless, ordinary procession. We travel everywhere, crossing all borders, spreading our decrees worldwide, wearing flowers that represent millennia of growth.
The narrator describes his renewed strength and the universal, timeless nature of his journey.
“Eleves, I salute you! come forward! Continue your annotations, continue your questionings.”
Students, I greet you! Step forward! Keep making your notes and asking your questions.
The narrator directly addresses his followers, encouraging them to persist in their work.