Mediums
They shall arise in the States,They shall report Nature, laws, physiology, and happiness,They shall illustrate Democracy and the kosmos,They shall be alimentive, amative, perceptive,They shall be complete women and men, their pose brawny and supple,their drink water, their blood clean and clear,They shall fully enjoy materialism and the sight of products, theyshall enjoy the sight of the beef, lumber, bread-stuffs, ofChicago the great city.They shall train themselves to go in public to become orators andoratresses,Strong and sweet shall their tongues be, poems and materials ofpoems shall come from their lives, they shall be makers and finders,Of them and of their works shall emerge divine conveyers, to convey gospels,Characters, events, retrospections, shall be convey’d in gospels,trees, animals, waters, shall be convey’d,Death, the future, the invisible faith, shall all be convey’d.
Weave in, weave in, my hardy life,Weave yet a soldier strong and full for great campaigns to come,Weave in red blood, weave sinews in like ropes, the senses, sight weave in,Weave lasting sure, weave day and night the wet, the warp, incessantweave, tire not,(We know not what the use O life, nor know the aim, the end, norreally aught we know,But know the work, the need goes on and shall go on, thedeath-envelop’d march of peace as well as war goes on,)For great campaigns of peace the same the wiry threads to weave,We know not why or what, yet weave, forever weave.
Out of the murk of heaviest clouds,Out of the feudal wrecks and heap’d-up skeletons of kings,Out of that old entire European debris, the shatter’d mummeries,Ruin’d cathedrals, crumble of palaces, tombs of priests,Lo, Freedom’s features fresh undimm’d look forth--the same immortalface looks forth;(A glimpse as of thy Mother’s face Columbia,A flash significant as of a sword,Beaming towards thee.)
Nor think we forget thee maternal;Lag’d’st thou so long? shall the clouds close again upon thee?Ah, but thou hast thyself now appear’d to us--we know thee,Thou hast given us a sure proof, the glimpse of thyself,Thou waitest there as everywhere thy time.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- amative a.
- Full of love; amatory. [L. amatus, p. p. of amare to love.]
- perceptive a.
- Of or pertaining to the act or power of perceiving; having the faculty or power of perceiving; used in perception. [Cf. F. perceptif.]
- brawny a.
- Having large, strong muscles; muscular; fleshy; strong.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- wiry a.
- Made of wire; like wire; drawn out like wire. [Written also wiery.]
- murk n.
- Darkness; mirk.
- columbia n.
- America; the United States; -- a poetical appellation given in honor of Columbus, the discoverer. Dr. T. Dwight.
- maternal a.
- Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mediums 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, Mediums, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/mediums.html, id L04050.
Form and metre
Mediums is 42 lines in 4 stanzas. 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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.
- 1 ---A---A---A-BBCC states · happiness · kosmos · perceptiveA · supple · clear · they · ofA · city · and · oratresses · ofA · finders · gospelsB · gospelsB · convey'dC · convey'dC
- 2 ---------AA life · come · in · incessant · not · nor · know · the · on · weaveA · weaveA
- 4 -AA-- maternal · theeA · theeA · thyself · time
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 |
|---|---|---|
| They shall arise in the States, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| They shall report Nature, laws, physiology, and happiness, | 16 | ··˘//˘··˘/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| They shall illustrate Democracy and the kosmos, | 13 | ··/˘·˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| They shall be alimentive, amative, perceptive, | 13 | ·······/˘˘˘/˘ |
| They shall be complete women and men, their pose brawny and supple, | 16 | ···˘//˘····/˘·/˘ |
| their drink water, their blood clean and clear, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| They shall fully enjoy materialism and the sight of products, they | 19 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘˘·˘····/˘· |
| shall enjoy the sight of the beef, lumber, bread-stuffs, of | 13 | ·˘/·····/˘··· |
| Chicago the great city. | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| They shall train themselves to go in public to become orators and | 17 | ···˘/···/˘·˘//˘˘· |
| oratresses, | 4 | ···· |
| Strong and sweet shall their tongues be, poems and materials of | 15 | ·······/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| poems shall come from their lives, they shall be makers and finders, | 15 | /˘········/˘·/˘ |
| Of them and of their works shall emerge divine conveyers, to convey gospels, | 19 | ·······˘/˘/˘/˘·˘//˘ |
| Characters, events, retrospections, shall be convey’d in gospels, | 16 | /˘˘˘/······˘/·/˘ |
| trees, animals, waters, shall be convey’d, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘··˘/ |
| Death, the future, the invisible faith, shall all be convey’d. | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘˘····˘/ |
| Weave in, weave in, my hardy life, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Weave yet a soldier strong and full for great campaigns to come, | 14 | ···/˘·····˘/·· |
| Weave in red blood, weave sinews in like ropes, the senses, sight weave in, | 16 | ···········/˘··· |
| Weave lasting sure, weave day and night the wet, the warp, incessant | 15 | ·/˘·········˘/˘ |
| weave, tire not, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| (We know not what the use O life, nor know the aim, the end, nor | 15 | ··············· |
| really aught we know, | 5 | /˘··· |
| But know the work, the need goes on and shall go on, the | 13 | ············· |
| death-envelop’d march of peace as well as war goes on,) | 13 | ·˘/˘········· |
| For great campaigns of peace the same the wiry threads to weave, | 14 | ··˘/·····/˘··· |
| We know not why or what, yet weave, forever weave. | 12 | ········˘/˘· |
| Out of the murk of heaviest clouds, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Out of the feudal wrecks and heap’d-up skeletons of kings, | 14 | ···/˘····/˘˘·· |
| Out of that old entire European debris, the shatter’d mummeries, | 18 | ····˘/˘·˘/˘˘/·/˘·· |
| Ruin’d cathedrals, crumble of palaces, tombs of priests, | 14 | /˘˘/˘/˘·/˘˘··· |
| Lo, Freedom’s features fresh undimm’d look forth--the same immortal | 15 | ·/˘/˘·······˘/˘ |
| face looks forth; | 3 | ··· |
| (A glimpse as of thy Mother’s face Columbia, | 12 | ·····/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| A flash significant as of a sword, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Beaming towards thee.) | 5 | /˘··· |
| Nor think we forget thee maternal; | 9 | ···˘/·˘/˘ |
| Lag’d’st thou so long? shall the clouds close again upon thee? | 13 | ········˘/··· |
| Ah, but thou hast thyself now appear’d to us--we know thee, | 14 | ····˘/·˘/····· |
| Thou hast given us a sure proof, the glimpse of thyself, | 13 | ··/˘·······˘/ |
| Thou waitest there as everywhere thy time. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.