Journal #38

Walt Whitman frequently used the themes of everyman and symbols of Christianity in his poetry throughout such works as his "Leaves of Grass" and his cluster of poems called "Whispers of Heavenly Death," in which this poem first appeared. The poem, titled "As I Watched the Ploughman Ploughing," exhibits each of these trait, but Whitman weaves them in in a subtle way. He depicts a farm scene when he illustrates a ploughman ploughing, an sower sowing, and a harvester harvesting (Whitman). These are typically simple jobs, and they were very common many years ago when Whitman was writing. Initially, the reader notices a sense of usual occurrences. This sense of the everyman is relevant to readers because most can obviously relate to it as simple workers themselves. This concept of Whitman as stated by Whitman promotes a sense of equality in that I am you, and you are me, and I am them, and they are us. This whole concept stems back to the basic teaching of Christianity, or more specifically Adam and Eve fro the earliest times. Whitman is trying to say that if every human originally came from those two, them we are all essentially related. The sense of Christianity is prevalent throughout the poem. For example, when he mentions the sower, the ploughman, and the harvester, he could really be relating these characters not simply to the everyman, but to the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit (Whitman). According to this analogy, not every mention of a person could be construed as everyman. For instance, "O life and death, your analogies:", the word your could refer back to the ideas of life and death themselves (Whitman). Another Christina aspect is the fact of God watching over people, more specifically the common laborer. This is visible through the fact that the Holy Trinity is doing the Ploughman. In biblical stories, God is depicted as watching over farmers and such, and this is included in this story as well.


Works Cited

Whitman, Walt. As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing (1900). Web. 28 Feb. 2011.