“Salut au Monde” introduces a novel Whitman in his illumination of societal confines. In general, Whitman describes America as all-encompassing, as it contains both the positive and the negative; in doing so, he gravitates towards this consistent message of man being capable of transcendence. Lines such as “I hear the wheeze of the slave-coffle, as the slaves march on…fastened together with wrist-chains and ankle-chains” introduce confines into Whitman’s open-ended realm. One develops a sense of how tension occurs between the fluid nature of his lines and his actual message. At first, this poem discusses “gliding wonders,” and images of people, mountains, rivers, and foreign lands, etc. However, as it progresses, it adopts a sense of darkness in the midst of its inclusiveness. One sees both “the shaded part on one side….and the sun-lit part on the other side” and how sometimes the idyllic world Whitman desires becomes bound by societal trappings. While he speaks of “limitlessness” in this poem, he contradicts this notion, such as in his discussions of slavery, in which recognition of the problem proves to no avail.
The Whitman of “Salut au Monde” greets the world in an honest manner that does not shy from discussions of societal failings; it even paints some of them as definitive. This differs from the Whitman described in poems such as in Neruda’s “Ode to Walt Whitman.” In this poem Neruda provides a nostalgic view of Whitman, as he walks “with bare feet, on the grass,” and honors Whitman’s pastoral images. These provide Neruda with the “company” of Whitman’s “hand” and a personal union with the poet himself. When Neruda mentions Whitman’s hand, it mirrors the end of “Salut au Monde,” in which Whitman describes his own hand as perpendicular, as it permits to grasp the “haunts and homes” of his fellow people. With the word “haunt,” Whitman conveys how, in the universe’s expansiveness, limits and dangers prove inevitable.
As Whitman includes this darker lean, he extends his general reach, from that of America’s immensity, to a global perspective. Thus, Whitman provides catalogs of individual cities, and their characteristics, from across the globe. When this poem utilizes the phrases “I see” and “I hear,” it demonstrates the magnitude of his sightings. Upon the introduction of “you” in this poem, one develops an active approach in said viewings. As Whitman describes numerous environments and their components, he includes his fellow man alongside him, without the evasion of the negative as it proves insurmountable.
I really like the attention to that “haunting” sense here, as well as that exclusiveness that is partly Whitman’s own doing, as we discussed in class, and partly a produce of a world whose imperfections he can’t control. As you write: “One sees both “the shaded part on one side….and the sun-lit part on the other side” and how sometimes the idyllic world Whitman desires becomes bound by societal trappings. While he speaks of “limitlessness” in this poem, he contradicts this notion, such as in his discussions of slavery, in which recognition of the problem proves to no avail.” Nicely put!