Leaves of Grass · Chapter
My 71st Year explained
The speaker reflects on having surpassed the age of seventy, recounting the losses, changes, and passions of a long life, including the deaths of parents and the Civil War.
What happens
The speaker reflects on having surpassed the age of seventy, recounting the losses, changes, and passions of a long life, including the deaths of parents and the Civil War. He compares himself to an old, broken soldier who, after a weary march or battle, still answers roll call and salutes the ultimate Officer.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Immortality
The speaker acknowledges personal losses and the approach of death, yet asserts continued presence and duty.
Individuality and Self
The poem is a personal reflection on the speaker's own life, passions, and enduring identity.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“After surmounting three-score and ten, With all their chances, changes, losses, sorrows, My parents’ deaths, the vagaries of my life, the many tearing passions of me, the war of ’63 and ’4,”
Having lived past seventy years, through all the luck, upheavals, grief, and intense emotions of my life, including the deaths of my parents and the Civil War,
The speaker lists the hardships and experiences of a long life.
“As some old broken soldier, after a long, hot, wearying march, or haply after battle, To-day at twilight, hobbling, answering company roll-call, Here, with vital voice, Reporting yet, saluting yet the Officer over all.”
Like a worn-out veteran after a grueling march or battle, I limp forward at dusk, still answering the roll call, still speaking with a lively voice, still reporting and saluting the supreme Commander.
The speaker compares his aged self to a soldier who continues to fulfill his duty despite exhaustion.