As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days
As I walk these broad majestic days of peace,(For the war, the struggle of blood finish’d, wherein, O terrific Ideal,Against vast odds erewhile having gloriously won,Now thou stridest on, yet perhaps in time toward denser wars,Perhaps to engage in time in still more dreadful contests, dangers,Longer campaigns and crises, labors beyond all others,)Around me I hear that eclat of the world, politics, produce,The announcements of recognized things, science,The approved growth of cities and the spread of inventions.
I see the ships, (they will last a few years,)The vast factories with their foremen and workmen,And hear the indorsement of all, and do not object to it.
But I too announce solid things,Science, ships, politics, cities, factories, are not nothing,Like a grand procession to music of distant bugles pouring,triumphantly moving, and grander heaving in sight,They stand for realities--all is as it should be.
Then my realities;What else is so real as mine?Libertad and the divine average, freedom to every slave on the faceof the earth,The rapt promises and lumine of seers, the spiritual world, thesecenturies-lasting songs,And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid announcementsof any.
Words in this poem
- odds n.
- Difference in favor of one and against another; excess of one of two things or numbers over the other; inequality; advantage; superiority; hence, excess of chances; probability. [See Odd, a.]
- erewhile adv.
- Some time ago; a little while before; heretofore.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- eclat n.
- Brilliancy of success or effort; splendor; brilliant show; striking effect; glory; renown. [F. éclat a fragment, splinter, explosion, brilliancy, splendor, fr. éclater to splinter, burst, explode, shine brilliantly, prob. of German origin; cf. OHG. sle]
- triumphantly adv.
- In a triumphant manner.
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days is in the public domain. This text is taken from Leaves of Grass, Project Gutenberg ebook #1322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Walt Whitman, As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/as-i-walk-these-broad-majestic-days.html, id L04056.
Form and metre
As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days is 25 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 74% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.5 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 4 A---A--- realitiesA · mine · face · earth · theseA · songs · announcements · any
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| As I walk these broad majestic days of peace, | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| (For the war, the struggle of blood finish’d, wherein, O terrific Ideal, | 18 | ····/˘··/˘···˘/˘˘/ |
| Against vast odds erewhile having gloriously won, | 15 | ········/˘/˘˘˘· |
| Now thou stridest on, yet perhaps in time toward denser wars, | 15 | ··/˘··˘/····/˘· |
| Perhaps to engage in time in still more dreadful contests, dangers, | 16 | ˘/·˘/·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| Longer campaigns and crises, labors beyond all others,) | 14 | /˘˘/·/˘/˘···/˘ |
| Around me I hear that eclat of the world, politics, produce, | 16 | ······˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| The announcements of recognized things, science, | 11 | ·˘/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| The approved growth of cities and the spread of inventions. | 14 | ·˘/··/˘····˘/˘ |
| I see the ships, (they will last a few years,) | 10 | ·········· |
| The vast factories with their foremen and workmen, | 12 | ··/˘˘··/˘·/˘ |
| And hear the indorsement of all, and do not object to it. | 15 | ···˘/˘·····/˘·· |
| But I too announce solid things, | 8 | ···˘//˘· |
| Science, ships, politics, cities, factories, are not nothing, | 15 | /˘·/˘·/˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Like a grand procession to music of distant bugles pouring, | 16 | ···˘/˘·/˘·/˘/˘/˘ |
| triumphantly moving, and grander heaving in sight, | 13 | ˘/˘˘/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| They stand for realities--all is as it should be. | 13 | ···˘/˘˘······ |
| Then my realities; | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| What else is so real as mine? | 7 | ······· |
| Libertad and the divine average, freedom to every slave on the face | 20 | ·····˘//˘˘/˘·/˘˘···· |
| of the earth, | 3 | ··· |
| The rapt promises and lumine of seers, the spiritual world, these | 17 | ··/˘˘·/˘···/˘˘˘·· |
| centuries-lasting songs, | 6 | /˘˘/˘· |
| And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid announcements | 18 | ·/˘/˘·/˘·/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| of any. | 3 | ·/˘ |
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