There Was a Child Went Forth

Walt Whitman

There was a child went forth" is a poem written by Walt Whitman in 1855 and later included in the
collection of poems entitled Autumn Rivulets It is an account of a childhood, and is considered to be
autobiographical. The poem presents a mixture of country and city scenes as the poet records his
memories of early domestic scenes and Frank pen portraits of his parents. This poem also reveals his
inclination towards his mother more than his father.

A child went out each day and the first object he saw, he became. That object continued to remain
part of him either for a short while or for many years. Such objects as lilacs, grass, morning glories,
March-born lambs, streets, oceans, clouds, and the horizon's edge became part of him, as did his
parents and all other men and women. "These became part of that child who went forth every day,
and who now goes, and will always go forth every day."

This poem expresses the poet's identification of his consciousness with all objects and forms, and
the list of things which he himself identifies with is large and comprehensive and is a good example
of Whitman's catalogs. The continual process of becoming is at the heart of the poem. We become
something or grow into something and this is the process of becoming, of change and development.

The interpenetration of the child's consciousness and physical phenomena, as shown in this poem, is
one of the essential elements of Whitman's thought.

There Was a Child Went Forth” is Walt Whitman’s rendition of how a child sees the world. The poem
tours the reader through several details of the child’s environment: nature, people, family; and
reinforces how these details become a “part of this child” as he looks upon them.
The title and first
line of the poem--“There was a child went forth”--immediately set the the tone for the narrative:
this is a special child, bravely embracing the world around him like a soldier charging into battle. The
ensuing story glorifies and emphasizes the importance of this child’s impartial, undiscriminating
mindset. Regardless of the form, content, or function of this object, the child incorporates it into
himself, for “years,” potentially. Seemingly insignificant elements of nature older individuals would
likely glean over, this child readily gives attention to: “early lilacs,” “the cow’s calf,” “the song of the
phoebe-bird.”

Youthful excitement for the surrounding world saturates this child’s life with meaning and wonder.
Even the presentation of these objects mirrors that of a child’s : Whitman arranges them in a
rambling, stream-of-consciousness series .One gets the feeling there could no be enough to
describe, an endless procession of objects to fill and overfill the child’s heart.

People are given fresh and free recognition.The speaker lists “the schoolmistress,” “the old
drunkard” “the barefoot negro boy and girl.” There is an equality of importance evident in the child’s
conception of these individuals: Whitman presents a whole spectrum of types, genders and races.
The child’s simple wisdom makes him a forerunner of social equality and unconditional acceptance.

The philosophy of late nineteenth century impressionists bore similarity to this child’s approach to
the world around him. They were out to paint the world without depth or dimension or other
corrupting influence; they wanted people to see it as it was: a series of colors. The child too, has an
unrequited willingness to “see” the world, to take it for what it is. In doing so, the child “will always
go forth every day,” assures Whitman. He will, as Thoreau once extolled, take “this bit of sod under
[his] feet [as] the sweetest to [him] in this world--in any world.
There Was a Child Went Forth” by Walt Whitman illustrates his position as part of the new American
Tradition and his desire to fulfill the call for a poet who “sings the materials of America” by Emerson.
The poem is earthy and real: the emotion, events and perceptions are that of the average person.
The lofty ideas presented within are approachable because they are part of the every-man’s
perception and life.

Summary
The poem describes a child's quest. The child goes forth every day and each day he merges with the
first object he sees. The object then becomes a part of him and vice versa. Flowers, trees, beasts,
and bird's songs become part of him. Also various human beings become part of him, including a
drunkard, a schoolmistress, and other children.
The child however incorporates the most of his mother and father. He incorporates his mother who
is mild, silent, and caring, and his father who is strong, manly, and unjust. He also incorporates the
family life, its habits, language, company, furniture, etc., as well as abstractions, as affections,
doubts, etc.
The speakers asks in a rhetorical way whether the appearance of things is not merely "flashes and
specks" representing people in the streets, streets, houses, villages, waves, clouds, horizon, odours,
etc. But anyway all these become parts of the child "who now goes, and will always go forth every
day".

Analysis
Rather atypically for Whitman, the poem is not in the voice of a first person speaker, but it is a
description from the third person point of view.
The poem expresses vigorous all-embracing love and desire to merge with the whole of the world.
Specifically it points out love to one's family, and people and nature in general.

Style
Walt Whitman’s language is loose yet precise, varied but common, and it illustrates a perfect
balance between the real and the artistic. The structure flows coalesces and begins to flow again
while all the while remains a simple list-like form.