Leaves of Grass · Chapter
What Place Is Besieged? explained
The chapter presents a rhetorical question about a besieged place, answered by the sending of a swift, brave, and immortal commander with formidable artillery and men, suggesting a theme of liberation or divine intervention.
What happens
The chapter presents a rhetorical question about a besieged place, answered by the sending of a swift, brave, and immortal commander with formidable artillery and men, suggesting a theme of liberation or divine intervention.
Themes in this chapter
Democracy and Equality
The sending of a commander to a besieged place may symbolize the defense of democratic ideals against oppression.
The Poet as Prophet and Unifier
The narrator acts as a prophetic voice, declaring the arrival of a liberating force.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“What place is besieged, and vainly tries to raise the siege? Lo, I send to that place a commander, swift, brave, immortal, And with him horse and foot, and parks of artillery, And artillery-men, the deadliest that ever fired gun.”
Which location is under attack and struggling to break free? Behold, I dispatch to that location a leader who is fast, courageous, and eternal, accompanied by cavalry, infantry, and artillery parks, along with the most lethal gunners ever to fire a weapon.
The paraphrase captures the essence of the original, emphasizing the sending of an invincible commander and his forces.