# World Take Good Notice explained — Leaves of Grass

> Chapter companion for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

## What happens

A brief, urgent proclamation to the world, using vivid and ominous imagery of fading stars, a torn Milky Way, and burning coals to signal a warning from the shores of America.

## Themes in this chapter

### America and Its People

The chapter presents America as a powerful, warning entity addressing the world.

## Character check-ins

### America

Implied as the source of the warning, flaunting signals from its shores.

## Key lines

> World take good notice, silver stars fading, Milky hue ript, weft of white detaching, Coals thirty-eight, baleful and burning, Scarlet, significant, hands off warning, Now and henceforth flaunt from these shores.

Pay attention, world: the stars are dimming, the Milky Way is tearing apart, and thirty-eight burning coals send a red warning from these shores from now on.

_The imagery suggests a dramatic, possibly apocalyptic signal of warning or change._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/world-take-good-notice
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters