Walt Whitman’s emphasis on the individual seems to be poignant yet again in “In Paths Untrodden”. Here, it seems society can limit an individual from doing what they truly want to do, or doing something that might not follow the “conformities” of society. It seems Whitman is saying that people are afraid to break the norms of society in fear of people’s judgements. When he is “secluded” he can “respond as I would not dare elsewhere”. In other words, far from the scrutiny of society, he feels the freedom to act in a way that he would not “dare” to anywhere else. This poem also exhibits some transcendental qualities, such as his union with nature that is consistently present throughout the piece. However, it seems that relationship between “comrades” is also just as important as the relationship with nature. In the second half of the poem Whitman talks about “manly attachment” and “athletic love”. Perhaps there is transcendence found in a perfect balanced union between man to man and man to nature.
Interesting point about the overlap in intension between the man-man and man-nature engagements–both work against the grain of established conformities, etc. Make sure your posts are 250+m words to receive full credit in the future!