Ages and Ages

Walth Whitmman, to borrow from the movie Toy Story was one sad strange little man. Of course it is pretty well known Whitman was a bit eccentric the poem Ages and Ages Returning at Intervals REALLY shows how strange he was. The line "
Lusty, phallic, with the potent original loins, perfectly sweet,

I, chanter of Adamic songs, " (Whitman) Is a good example of how strang Whit man really was. Just that line is enough to make almost any person sstop and have a giant what the eff moment. Jokes aside, the poem is a bit weird but does have a kind of cool meaning. As said by Blooms Literary reference "

The Adam of the Garden of Eden is, for the poet, "immortal": "Ages and ages returning at intervals, / Undestroy'd, wandering immortal." And sexual: "Lusty, phallic, with the potent original loins, perfectly sweet." And Adam has been reborn in America.

The poet reminds the reader that he himself is the "chanter of Adamic songs" for "the new garden the West." He sings the song of America and of its growing significance for the mid-19th century world. And he turns the sex act into a time of purification, a metaphor for a cleansing in the new garden from the stains of the Old World. "Bathing myself," he says, "bathing my songs in Sex."" ( Oliver).

The Bloom's analysis really hit the nail on the head hear. Whitman is talking about how we are all sons of Adam and he thinks that America is the new Garden of Eden and we need to enjoy it. Towards the end of the poem whitman also talks about how "

Bathing myself, bathing my songs in Sex,

Offspring of my loins." (Whitman) What he means by this line is that the poems he writes are the offspring of his. Like children they represent him and what he is.

He thinks of his poems are little representations of himself. This is sort of how God thinks of humans are offsprings of himself and little pieces of himself in each person there is. Whitman says that it is a sin to suppress our sexual urges more than it could ever be a sin to have sex. Blooms says "For Whitman, here as in other Children of Adam poems, it is the suppression of sexual intercourse that is the sin, not the act itself. The act becomes a rebirth into a life free of sin." (Whitman). I thought this poem was pretty interesting if not a bit oddly worded and made to seem generally strange tot he reader as if they were reading a sort of sexual journal by Whitman. I had to read it several times before the what in world idea about the poem finally wore off and I could figure out what in the world the poem could mean. It certainly is not a poem that would sound harmless if it were taken out of context, no this poem could easily seem crazy and homosexual to anyone who did not understand the reasong behind the poem or hidden meanigns in it.

Oliver, Charles M. "'Ages and Ages Returning at Intervals'."Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW010&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 3, 2011)

Whitman, Walt. "AGES AND AGES RETURNING AT INTERVALS.. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .