Ahoy, there, Walt

In "Song of Myself," Whitman is fascinated with exhalation and inhalation; by following some of the poem's gestures to the outside, seeing what we find in the cultural world of mid-19th century America (exhalations), and then turning round to re-examine the poem with that cultural find in mind- we will mimic the repeating process of an outward breath and then a drawing in that Whitman uses in the poem. And hopefully this will let us dive deeper into the poem, or catch more of it in our understanding...

So, how about considering this passage from the poem (pg. 38 of the 1855 edition), which features arctic exploration? It's not a famous or pivotal passage, but the context of arctic exploration turns out to be quite surprising and dramatic.

I anchor my ship for a little while only,

My messengers continually cruise away or bring their returns to me.

I go hunting polar furs and the seal... leaping chasms with a pike-pointed staff            ....clinging to topples of brittle and blue.

I ascend to the foretruck.... I take my place late at night in the crow's nest....           we sail through the arctic sea.... it is plenty light enough,

Through the clear atmosphere I stretch around on the wonderful beauty,

The enormous masses of ice pass me and I pass them.... the scenery is plain in           all directions,

The white-topped mountains point up in the distance.... I fling out my fancies           toward them;

We are about approaching some great battlefield in which we are soon to be           engaged,

We pass the colossal outposts of the encampments.... we pass with still feet and           caution;

Or we are entering by the suburbs some vast and ruined city.... the blocks and           fallen architecture more than all the living cities of the globe.

I am a free companion.... I bivouac by invading watchfires.

I turn the bridegroom out of bed and stay with the bride myself,

And tighten her all night to my thighs and lips.

My voice is the wife's voice, the screech by the rail of the stairs,

They fetch my man's body up dripping and drowned.

I understand the large hearts of heroes,

The courage of present times and all times;

In the 1850s (and in most of the 19th century), there was a fascination, almost a mania for exploring the arctic regions - in order to map them and to find the long-sought Northwest Passage, which was imagined to be of great commercial value.

This map is from the 1870s, but it shows the supposed open sea above North America, which the explorers were seeking:

In the 1850s, interest in arctic exploration focused on the mysterious disappearance of the famous British explorer Sir John Franklin. Franklin and his entire crew of 129 men were lost during their 1845 hunt for the Northwest Passage.

The mystery of their disappearance captivated Brits and Americans for years - both countries sent multiple expeditions in search of the lost crew (or at least clues to their disappearance) and newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic were filled with reports, illustrations, maps, and such about the fascinating mystery. In fact, this has been called the first mass media mystery - in that new technologies allowed the public to see and follow the clues as they were uncovered. Hundreds of reports of the expedition and the search for story of the explorer's disappearance were published.

Confident images published on the eve of the expedition, like these showing the industriousness of the explorers and the wonders of the Arctic...

Gave way to grimmer, though no less romanticized, depictions of the North:

In the early 1850s, on an expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, Captain Robert McClure established the existence of the fabled Northwest Passage, although he was not able to sail through it. On Nov. 12, 1853, the New York Times began its coverage of McClure's expedition with this dispatch (w/ my underlining):

Another chapter has been added to the long and eventful history of Arctic exploration; and it announces the fact which all past endeavor has sought to demonstrate. Capt. McClure, one of the bravest of the many noble spirits who have lavished upon the frozen icebergs of the Pole, heroism equal to the conquest of nations, has spent three years of his life amid the solitudes of that desolate region; and though no relic of Sir John Franklin has met his eye, he has partly accomplished the work which Franklin undertook. He has established the fact that a passage exists between the Atlantic and Pacific through the ocean that surrounds the Pole.[...]It is doubtful, indeed, whether the vast accumulations of ice on that route will ever permit it to be pursued; and it seems quite certain that no practical use of the channel can ever be made. But the geographical science gains by the knowledge that the passage exists, and that America is only an island.[...]In another part of this morning's Times we commence the publication of the official dispatches, in which he gives a detailed narrative of his experience and observations during the whole period of his sojourn in that region of awful and sublime desolation. They are very voluminous and will occupy a large portion of our space for several successive days; --but we are confident they will be eagerly welcomed by the great mass of intelligent readers." 

Inspired by earlier searches, Charles Francis Hall departed on his own Sir John Francis hunt/expedition in 1860. When he returned in 1862, he brought two of his Inuit guides, Tookolito ("Hannah") and Ebierbing ("Joe") back to New York with him, where they were exhibited (!) at P.T. Barnum's museum.


To return to "Song of Myself" - the experience of the North that Whitman seems to be invoking is one closer to this euphoric image (already featured once above). A dreamscape of solitude, masculinity, and grandeur. Yet one that is still connected by incoming and outgoing messages. This image of the North, especially given the context of the 19th century exploration "age of heroes" and the disappearance of Sir John Franklin and crew, touches on many issues that might be fruitfully explored/traced in the poem:

man's relation to nature
the industriousness of man
self-exploration and exploration of nature
conquering
heroism
masculinity
nation/globe (especially American national identity in relation to Britain)
hunt/search
expansion
natives, not civilization
there & back (what do you bring back? are you different on return? do you return to the same place you left?)
mapping/cataloging




(Unless otherwise noted, all images are from Prof. R. Potter's online Franklin expedition museum)