Section+30

Here is the section read aloud: media type="file" key="whitman section 30.wmv" width="191" height="176"

Stanza 1- Whitman believes that “all truths wait in all things” (648) and will not be discovered until found by a person seeking them. By using the repetition of the word “all” Whitman shows the equality of everything and that all truths are important. This showcases the speaker’s optimistic tone of seeing the good in everything. If the truth can be found everywhere, then they should be able to be found in what an individual learns from others as well. For some truth is revealed instantly and in other cases never found, but when a person is in need of truth and longs to know, it will be revealed. This is what Whitman means when he says “wait” (648) because often times people jump to conclusion or are anxious to find out something too soon, but patience is the key to knowing truth because when it is needed for legitimate reasons, it will be attained. Whitman also mentions that “they neither hasten their own delivery nor resist it” (649), but will come when necessary. Truth is not easily achieved, but it also does not need to be forced with “obstetric forceps” (650). After examining the significance of truths’ nature to wait to make people search for them, the speaker says that “the insignificant is as big” (651) and equal to him as everything else. This again supports the poem’s purpose to show fairness and equality of all things. He says “(What is less or more than a touch?)” (652) showing that any form or size of truth is significant to mankind. The fact that the stanza ends with a question in parenthesis shows the speaker's internal interrogation and confused feelings about the subject.

Stanza 2- In the second stanza, the speaker says that “Logic and sermons never convince” which contradicts the first line of the stanza one (653). The speaker says that truth can be found in “all things” (648) and then goes on to say that “sermons never convince” (653). The word "never" contains a negative connotation, which contradicts the first stanza's optimistic tone. Whitman defines the truth in stanza two as knowledge that people can gain through reading and reflecting, rather than through lectures of authority, which are both Transcendentalist ideas: value of intuitive knowledge and rejection of traditional authority. Such a contradiction demonstrates that Whitman does believe in the unity and equality of all things, yet also believes in being an individual. He wants people to think for themselves, rather than forming opinions based exclusively on the perceptions and teachings of others. The stanza also demonstrates awareness of audience because the alliteration says the night "drives deeper" into his sould (654). The "d" sound radiates power and strength which convinces readers to listen to the speaker.

Stanza 3- In this stanza the repetition of “only” presents a limiting connotation to where things can only go a certain extent (655, 656). It contradicts the very first idea in this section, that truth is in every single thing, because it limits the amount of possibilities of what truth can be. These phrases also define what he knows to be truth from society. One clue to this is that these two lines that begin with “only” are confined in parentheses, which show a change and closure from his free and original thoughts that consume the rest of the section. The parentheses also show how the speaker wants people to keep the ideas from society separate and muffled in their heads. This shows the Transcendentalist idea of rejecting traditional authority and its ideas, making this a Transcendentalist poem. Throughout this section the speaker tries to understand this paradox of truth by sorting through all of his past ideas.

Stanza 4- In this last section, Whitman shows equality of all people when he repeats the phrase “man or woman” (659) as opposed to generalizing everyone with the term man. The repetition of “and” (659-662) shows that Whitman’s ideas begin to carry him away and his thoughts race faster than his pen. The section ends with “And until every one shall delight us, and we them” (662), which means in the end sharing truth with others connects human beings to one another. This relates to the Transcendentalist idea of an Over-soul that connects all people.

Stanza Splits- The stanza splits in this section present a paradox. Each one represents a different definition of truth or what the speaker has known truth to be from his thoughts or ideas from society. They also show a transition in the speaker’s mind from what he knows in the first stanza to a prediction of what he thinks will happen in the last stanza.