I Saw in Louisiana, A Live-Oak Growing: An Analysis
Quote:
I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches,
Without any companion it stood there uttering joyous leaves of dark green,
And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself,
But I wondered how it could utter joyous leaves standing alone there
without its friend near, for I knew I could not,
And I broke off a twig with a certain number of leaves upon it,
and twined around it a little moss,
And brought it away, and I have placed it in sight in my room,
It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear friends,
(For I believe lately I think of little else than of them,)
Yet it remains to me a curious token, it makes me think of manly love;
For all that, and though the live-oak glistens there in Louisiana
solitary in a wide flat space,
Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend or lover near,
I know very well I could not.
In this poem, Whitman speaks of a tree that is alone, solitary, isolated in Louisiana without a friend near. However, despite the direct, immediate wording, there lies beneath a darker aspect.
All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches,
Without any companion it stood there uttering joyous leaves of dark green,
And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself, -- These lines are disturbing, but in a good way. The "moss hanging down from the braches" could represent male genitalia; Whitman calls it "lusty, unbending, rude," which could mean he's attracted to it. Also, the moss made him "think" of himself, which could mean genital excitation, or again, he's attracted to it.
And I broke off a twig with a certain number of leaves upon it,
and twined around it a little moss,
And brought it away, and I have placed it in sight in my room, -- The first two lines I take as "artificial excitation of the genital organs." The last line could mean he is thinking of his new "love."
Yet it remains to me a curious token, it makes me think of manly love; -- The denouement. This line represents what I have talked about.
So, the poem could be Whitman reminiscing about a lover, who is male. Or, as most will, it could be interpreted literally. What do you think?
