# Song of the Exposition explained — Leaves of Grass

> Chapter companion for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/song-of-the-exposition
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters