itman’s spiritual zest. Right after this cataloguing of the earth by Whitman, he goes into the next stanza that would habitually follow anything that talked about the land. Of course Whitman starts venerating the sea. “Sea of stretch’d ground swells; Sea breathing broad and convulsive; Sea of the brine of life and of unshovell’d yet always ready graves; Howler and scooper of storms, capricious and dainty sea, I am integral with you, I too am of one phase and of all phases”. (pg. 42)Not only does he celebrate his love for the ocean here, but also he uses it as a metaphor for the bigger picture that he is attempting to paint in his epic poem. The erratic ocean is a metaphor for himself, the poet of America. The sea is a divine mixture of both the good and bad sides of existence. Like some eastern religions that follow the belief of the ying and the yang; Whitman believes that he and nature are one and encompass all that comes with it. The sea is a wonderful physical interpretation of this concept. Whitman realizes this idea of life that he is celebrating is a delicate balance between the dark and light forces around us. As he describes all of the earth’s beauty, he also describes some of the underbelly elements of society. He chooses to see prostitutes, robbers, and other such scamps as not in a demeaning light, but as an essential part of life. Whitman decides to accept everything, even the imperfections of life. The sea represents life aptly by its striking contrasts that are as obvious and abundant as the contradictions that are in Walt Whitman’s writings. The sea for all of its beauty, “cushion me soft, rock me in billowy drowse” (pg. 42), has the darker side with the “convulsive breaths” of vicious waves. The sea is something to be admired and to be feared. It is an apt metaphor for nature and of a god, for they give you life and must be loved and be wary of. This wary...
