Whitmans To Thee Old Cause Published 1871 1881

Whitman’s To Thee Old Cause Published 1871, 1881 In Leaves of Grass, 189192 To thee old cause! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause, Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea, Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands, After a strange sad war, great war for thee, (I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be really fought, for thee, ) These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee. (A war O soldiers not for itself alone, Far, far more stood silently waiting behind, now to advance in this book. ) Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou centre! Around the idea of thee the war revolving, With all its angry and vehement play of causes, (With vast results to come for thrice a thousand years, ) These recitatives for thee, —my book and the war are one, Merged in its spirit I and mine, as the contest hinged on thee, As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself, Around the idea of thee. Explication by Lisa Riva Whitman, Walt. “To Thee Old Cause. ” Whitman Poetry and Prose. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc. , 167 -68. Print.

The Cause Beginning in midseventeenth century America, the term was used to describe civil and religious liberties. Critic Clarence Gohdes explains that the meaning of the “cause” would have been clear to Whitman’s contemporaries. In a notebook entry that may have served as a manuscript for the poem, Whitman wrote: “the ‘good old cause’ is that in all its diversities, in all lands, at all times, under all circumstances, —which promulgates liberty, justice, the cause of the people as against infidels and tyrants. ” To thee old cause! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause, Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea, Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands, After a strange sad war, great war for thee, (I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be really fought, for thee, ) These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee. (A war O soldiers not for itself alone, Far, far more stood silently waiting behind, now to advance in this book. ) Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou centre! Around the idea of thee the war revolving, With all its angry and vehement play of causes, (With vast results to come for thrice a thousand years, ) These recitatives for thee, —my book and the war are one, Merged in its spirit I and mine, as the contest hinged on thee, As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself, Around the idea of thee. Gohdes, Clarence. “Whitman and the ‘Good Old Cause’. ” American Literature. 34. 3 (1962): 400 -403. JSTOR. Web. 17 Sept. 2009.

Form Stanza 1 (7 lines) & Stanza 2 (2 lines) Introduction of 3 pieces to the puzzle (cause, war, poet) Stanza 3 (2 lines) & Stanza 4 (7 lines) Fusion of 3 pieces to the puzzle (cause, war, poet) Form of the poem is a visual representation of Whitman’s theory about the cyclical nature of the cause. Like the cause, the poem begins one way and changes or adapts as it grows, then returns to its original shape. To thee old cause! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause, Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea, Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands, After a strange sad war, great war for thee, (I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be really fought, for thee, ) These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee. (A war O soldiers not for itself alone, Far, far more stood silently waiting behind, now to advance in this book. ) Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou centre! Around the idea of thee the war revolving, With all its angry and vehement play of causes, (With vast results to come for thrice a thousand years, ) These recitatives for thee, —my book and the war are one, Merged in its spirit I and mine, as the contest hinged on thee, As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself, Around the idea of thee.

Juxtaposition To thee old cause! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause, In his descriptions of both Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea, the cause and the wars that result from its being upheld, Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands, After a strange sad war, great war for thee, Whitman juxtaposes positive and negative (I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be adjectives. really fought, for thee, ) These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee. (A war O soldiers not for itself alone, Far, far more stood silently waiting behind, now to advance in this book. ) Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou centre! Around the idea of thee the war revolving, With all its angry and vehement play of causes, (With vast results to come for thrice a thousand years, ) These recitatives for thee, —my book and the war are one, Merged in its spirit I and mine, as the contest hinged on thee, As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself, Around the idea of thee.

Use of Parentheses Whitman’s use of parenthetically separate statements in this poem seems to have two functions: In stanzas 1 and 4, the parentheses mark a change in the speaker’s voice. No longer voicing just the concerns of a poet, these statements show the concerns of a politician. To thee old cause! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause, Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea, Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands, After a strange sad war, great war for thee, (I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be really fought, for thee, ) These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee. (A war O soldiers not for itself alone, Far, far more stood silently waiting behind, now to advance in this book. ) Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou centre! In stanza 3, the parentheses refer to a shift Around the idea of thee the war revolving, in audience. The poet does With all its angry and vehement play of causes, not simply address all (With vast results to come for thrice a thousand years, ) people in this part of the These recitatives for thee, —my book and the war are one, poem, but instead Merged in its spirit I and mine, as the contest hinged on thee, addresses soldiers. As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself, The use of parentheses, Around the idea of thee. therefore, marks shifts in either speaker or audience in “To Thee Old Cause. ”

References to To thee old cause! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause, Leaves of Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea, Grass Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands, After a strange sad war, great war for thee, Whitman refers directly to (I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be the book (Leaves of Grass) in which this poem appears. really fought, for thee, ) He does so not only to fuse These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee. together the roles of the soldier and the poet, but also to emphasize the connection between his life’s work and the American cause. (A war O soldiers not for itself alone, Far, far more stood silently waiting behind, now to advance in this book. ) Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou centre! Around the idea of thee the war revolving, With all its angry and vehement play of causes, (With vast results to come for thrice a thousand years, ) These recitatives for thee, —my book and the war are one, Merged in its spirit I and mine, as the contest hinged on thee, As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself, Around the idea of thee.