Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Song of the Exposition explained
Walt Whitman calls upon the Muse to leave the old world and come to America, where a new, democratic, and industrial civilization will be celebrated.
What happens
Walt Whitman calls upon the Muse to leave the old world and come to America, where a new, democratic, and industrial civilization will be celebrated. He envisions a grand exposition that honors labor, machinery, and the common people, merging art with the vitality of the modern age.
Themes in this chapter
America and Its People
The poem celebrates American industry, labor, and the common people as the foundation of a new civilization.
The Poet as Prophet and Unifier
Whitman acts as a prophet, calling the Muse to America and envisioning a unifying exposition of all human achievement.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The speaker invokes the Muse and describes the new American exposition.
- Walt Whitman
Whitman's voice is central, calling for a shift from old-world art to new-world industry and democracy.
- America
America is portrayed as the setting for the new exposition, a land of progress and equality.
- Democracy
Democracy is celebrated as the spirit behind the exposition and the new industrial age.
Key passages
“Come, Muse, migrate from Greece and Ionia...”
Whitman invites the classical Muse to leave the old world and come to America.
The poet calls for a new artistic inspiration rooted in the American landscape and industry.
“I will make the poems of materials, for I think they are to be the most spiritual poems...”
Whitman declares that poems about physical, industrial materials will be deeply spiritual.
He elevates the mundane and mechanical to the realm of the sacred.