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I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame,
I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men at anguish with themselves, remorseful after deeds done,
I see in low life the mother misused by her children, dying, neglected, gaunt, desperate,
I see the wife misused by her husband, I see the treacherous seducer of young women.
I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love attempted to be hid, I see these sights on the earth.
I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny, I see martyrs and prisoners,
I observe a famine at sea, I observe the sailors casting lots who shall be kill’d to preserve the lives of the rest,
I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like;
All these-all the meanness and agony without end I sitting look out upon
See, hear, and am silent.
SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Introduction. Walt Whitman was a poet of democracy. He sang about the sufferings of the people working in factories, stores, offices, transport organizations, fields, etc. In this poem, I Sit and Look Out, he gives us a catalog of the sorrows of the world. He simply gives us a list of the misfortunes of mankind without going into the cause of the malady or suggesting a remedy.
Summary. The poet is confined to the four walls of his abode but observes carefully what is happening to thousands of citizens of his motherland. He finds that some people are shamefully oppressing others. Some young men commit blunders and become remorseful thereafter, sobbing convulsively in secret. Among the poor people there are many mothers who are neglected by their children and consequently they become desperate and die. There are wives who are not cared for by their husbands. Among young lovers jealousy, anguish of unrequited love, seduction etc., are rampant. The whole society suffers due to war, pestilence and tyranny. Among the sailors, famine spreads and it becomes necessary to throw away people one by one into the sea so that the others may survive.
I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor and upon negroes and the likeAll these-all the meanness and agony without end I sitting look out uponSee, hear and am silent.
Critical Analysis. I Sit and Look Out, is taken from the collection of poems entitled By the Road side, this is a touching poem where we see Whitman with sympathetic feelings for the real sufferers of humanity. The long list that he has made after a keen and compassionate observation has accorded variety and breadth to his poetry. Of course the poet has not cared to find out the reasons for these sufferings. Nor does he offer concrete remedies to ameliorate the grievances of the down-trodden workers. As far as the poem goes there is enough pathos in it and the realistic imagery appeals to the reader. Simple and lucid in style, the poem offers enough catharsis by way of relief to the readers sympathetic to those who suffer.