Symbol Analysis
Walt Whitman loved a good list, and "I Hear America Singing" is a great example of the poet's lust for the list. Most of the lines of the poem begin with a type of laborer—"the carpenter," "the shoemaker," "the woodcutter." In this list, the speaker describes their work and their songs individually, but the list brings them all together in a consistent form. The list is a form that recognizes the particularity and universality of whatever it's listing. (Psst: try that last line at dinner parties; it's a winner for sure.)
- Lines 2-8: Washerwomen, seamstresses, boatmen and masons—this poem collects 'em all. And while each person on the list has a distinct job to do, the list-like form brings them together. The poem encourages us to think about laborers across different fields of work as a unified group.