Two Poets, One Idea Walt Whitman and Donald Hall–These names incite a sense of excitement in almost every individual who enjoys poetry. The two American poets hail from different time periods, different backgrounds, and different lifestyles that have led to different experiences. However, despite their differences, the two poets appear to be very similar upon analyzing their works. “A Song of Myself” by Whitman and “My Son My Executioner” by Hall are poems that portray their fascination with the same theme – the cyclical nature of life.
Another similarity that exists between the two poets is they both portray their views through utilizing examples from nature. In “A Song of Myself,” Whitman uses grass to highlight the cyclical nature of life, whereas in “Kicking the Leaves”, Hall portrays this theme through leaves. Upon analyzing the works of Donald Hall and Walt Whitman, one can acknowledge that the two poets share a common admiration for the cyclical nature of life and both express their wonder in similar ways. Whitman and Hall are brought together by their views on the theme of the cyclical nature of life.
In their poems, both poets describe their awe and fascination of the fact that life never ceases. They strongly emphasize that the cycle of birth and death has occurred in the past, is occurring in the present, and will continue to occur in the future. In Stanza 7 from “A Song of Myself,” Whitman says, “Has any one supposed it lucky to be born? Thasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know I pass death with the dying and birth with the new-wash’d babe, and am not contain’d between my hat and boots,” (Whitman, Stanza 7).
In these lines, Whitman expresses that death and birth are essentially the same since they both symbolize the continuity of life. Donald Hall articulates this same concept in “My Son My Executioner”. Through the following lines, “Sweet death, small son Our instrument of immortality, Your cries and hunger document, Our bodily decay” (Hall, Stanza 2). Hall expresses that birth, although a joyous occasion, always signifies another phase in the cycle of life. The birth of a child is a reminder to the parents that their time on earth is approaching an end.
Although Hall expresses his fascination in a much darker manner than Whitman, Hall reminds his readers that an individual is still immortal as the future generations continue to carry on life. From the analyzing the themes in the poems’ written by Hall and Whitman, one can understand the similarities between the two poets. In addition to a fascination with the cyclical nature of life, the two poets share yet another similarity as they both use elements of nature to prove their points and express themselves. In “A Song of Myself,” Whitman compares the cyclical nature of a human’s life to the life cycle of grass.
In stanza six he says, “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” (Whitman, Stanza 6). Through these lines, Whitman essentially claims that although individuals die, their remains eventually decay and give rise to grass. Grass too follows this cycle of birth and decay, and as a result, the life of an individual continues. In “Kicking the Leaves,” Hall tells us a story of his experiences with the fallen leaves in autumn.
He reminisces of the days he kicked the leaves while walking back from games. He recounts childhood memories of raking leaves and later tumbling in them with his father. He also remembers kicking the leaves with his children as they walked home from games. The reason why Hall recounts all his memories is because he believes that the leaves too share his memories, as well as the memories from those who lived before him. He says, “This year, the poems came back when the leaves fell Kicking the leaves, I heard the leaves tell stories Remembering, and therefore looking ahead, and building The house of dying” (Hall, Stanza 5).
In these lines, Hall shows that there is timelessness to the cycle of the leaves. Every spring they sprout, and every autumn they fall. However, the leaves become a part of a timeless story, and each year, they help make new memories. Hall expresses the continuity of the leaves’ stories in the final stanza when he says, “Now I leap and fall, exultant and recovering From death, on account of death, in accord with the dead, The smell and taste of leaves again And the pleasure, the only long pleasure, of taking a place In the story of the leaves” (Hall, Stanza 7).
Through analyzing Walt Whitman’s “A Song of Myself” and Donald Hall’s “My Son My Executioner” and “Kicking the Leaves”, one can truly develop a sense of appreciation for the two poets. Both poets express the same wonder and awe for the cyclical nature of life, and both poets manage to relate this theme to nature. Whitman and Hall have proved to the world that the cyclical nature of life is a theme worth understanding, and both poets have successfully ignited their fascination with this theme in their readers.
