American Literature
being (myself, in the latter half of the 19th century, in America) freely, fully, and truly on record." A truly democratic poetry, for Whitman, is one that,
using a common language, is able to cross the gap between the self and another individual, to effect a sympathetic exchange of experiences. This
leads to a distinct blurring of the boundaries between the self and the world and between public and private. Whitman prefers spaces and situations
--like journeys, the outofdoors, cities--that allow for ambiguity in these respects. Thus we see poems like "Song of the Open Road" and "Crossing
Brooklyn Ferry," where the poet claims to be able to enter into the heads of others. Exploration becomes not just a trope but a mode of existence.
For Whitman, spiritual communion depends on physical contact, or at least proximity. The body is the vessel that enables the soul to experience the
world. Therefore the body is something to be worshipped and given a certain primacy
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