1
AS I ponder’d in silence,
Returning upon my poems, considering, lingering long,
A Phantom arose before me, with distrustful aspect,
Terrible in beauty, age, and power,
The genius of poets of old lands,
As to me directing like flame its eyes,
With finger pointing to many immortal songs,
And menacing voice, What singest thou? it said;
Know’st thou not, there is but one theme for ever-enduring bards?
And that is the theme of War, the fortune of battles,
The making of perfect soldiers?

2
Be it so, then I answer’d,
I too, haughty Shade, also sing war—and a longer and greater one than
any,

Waged in my book with varying fortune—with flight, advance, and
retreat—Victory deferr’d and wavering,

(Yet, methinks, certain, or as good as certain, at the last,)—The
field the world;

For life and death—for the Body, and for the eternal Soul,
Lo! too am come, chanting the chant of battles,
I, above all, promote brave soldiers.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Walt Whitman's poem As I Ponder’d in Silence.

5 Comments

  1. joy thomas says:

    i think he is strange but brilliant and he may be gay but truthful at least to himself

  2. Douglas thomas says:

    love it love it love it it was great it was so cool and it was totally cool

  3. BULBUL TIWARI says:

    THIS POEM IS VERY COOL. I THINK WALT WHITMAN’S POEMS ARE GREAT.

  4. Maria Helena says:

    Por favor comentem o poema As IPonder’d in Silence

  5. Matt says:

    wow, this is a great way to look at this poem…seriously, his writing is so unique

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Walt Whitman better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.