Leaves of Grass · Chapter
To the Garden the World explained
The narrator celebrates a return to a paradisiacal state, embodying a resurrection of the self in harmony with nature and the body.
What happens
The narrator celebrates a return to a paradisiacal state, embodying a resurrection of the self in harmony with nature and the body. The poem evokes a sensual, amorous unity with the world, where the narrator and Eve move together in mutual following, symbolizing equality and the intertwining of soul and body.
Themes in this chapter
Unity of Soul and Body
The poem presents the body as wondrous and quivering with fire, inseparable from the soul's resurrection and meaning.
Sexuality and the Body
Amorous, mature love and the life of bodies are central, with Eve and the narrator in a sensual, mutual dance.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“To the garden the world anew ascending, Potent mates, daughters, sons, preluding, The love, the life of their bodies, meaning and being”
The world rises again like a garden, with powerful partners and children beginning a new era, where the love and physical existence of bodies hold deep significance.
This opening sets the theme of bodily and spiritual renewal in a paradisiacal setting.
“Curious here behold my resurrection after slumber, The revolving cycles in their wide sweep having brought me again”
Witness my awakening from sleep, as the turning cycles of time have returned me to this state.
The narrator emphasizes a cyclical return to life and awareness.
“By my side or back of me Eve following, Or in front, and I following her just the same.”
Eve is either beside me, behind me, or ahead of me, and I follow her equally.
This line underscores mutual companionship and equality between the narrator and Eve.