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A Child Said What is Grass by Walt Whitman

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A Child Said What is Grass by Walt Whitman

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A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,
Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them, soon out of their mothers' laps,
And here you are the mothers' laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken soon out of their laps.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?

They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it,
And ceas'd the moment life appear'd.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.

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What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem ironic? -Destiny Vu

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What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem ironic? -Destiny Vu

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The tone of this poem is unsure but somewhat accepting. He does not exactly know how to describe the journey of life and death to the child, let alone describe it to himself. He switches from idea to idea in efforts of making it understandable for the child to comprehend. Although he creates multiple examples that do not relate whatsoever, none of them are negative and throughout the whole poem, he is accepting the idea of life and death.

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Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem? -Destiny Vu

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Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem? -Destiny Vu

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Throughout this poem, the writer presents examples and ideas that all relate to the symbol of grass representing life and death. He explains to the child that even after you die, you are still alive in the grass, as a small sprout. This symbol is understood as readers collect context from the poem.

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What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem? -Pearl Nguyen

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What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem? -Pearl Nguyen

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The poet uses images of grass to describe to the child what life and death is. The image of grass relates to life because the poet is trying to explain how when people die, their souls linger in the grass, so they aren't technically gone and dead forever, "They are alive and well somewhere, The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,". The image of grass and life form a motif because the idea of life, death, and grass go in a cycle throughout the poem. First is life, then death, then life again but in the "uncut hair of graves".

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What is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence? Elaborate on your idea. -Pearl Nguyen

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What is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence? Elaborate on your idea. -Pearl Nguyen

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The theme of this poem is: Life never ends. The poet is explaining to the child that your life is a constant cycle of life and death. He says how dying is a beautiful thing and how it's not the end of your journey, "All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier."