Stanza 11

I liked this stanza, where Whitman ponders which pictures he shall hang on the walls "to adorn the burial-house of him i love..." Whitman then describes various scenes that he believes sum up life in Lincoln's former country. He focuses on spring as a symbol for rebirth and his words seem a reassurance against both the loss of a hero and his own mortality. He mentions the "Gorgeous, indolent, sinking sun," which seems to serve as a symbol for the passage of time and as the engine of growth that accelerates the world forward. He mentions "herbage" and "leaves," describing them as "green," "fresh," and "sweet." this seems in contrast to the grief he expresses, which might suggest the leaves of fall,as they die and fall with flashes of color. He also mentions "the breast of the river," seemingly suggesting again the passage of time and the continuation of life. "Breast" suggests motherhood, or at the very least humanity, while the river implies a carrying on. Whitman suggests that humanity will still flow forward. He finally mentions humans at the end of the stanza: "And the city...with dwellings so dense...and all the scenes of life, and the workshops and the workmen homeward returning." These images of the city life are perhaps an homage to America, the nation that Lincoln saved, thus allowing for the cities to grow dense.