Whitman's poem "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing" is a short work of art that describes displays Christianity and spirituality as well as the concept of the "everyman." Whitman describes the ploughers ploughing and the sowers sowing as well as the harvesters harvesting (Whitman). These exhibit the every day jobs of regular people in the society; people were very farm based and grew their own food in order to survive. Therefore, it was common for one to be a phoughman, a sower, or a harvester. Through those lines in his poem, Whitman is describing the "everyman," as, typically, the common man in his culture was some sort of a farmer.
Whitman describes the cycle of life and death in his poem. He described life as the tillage, and death as the harvest according (Whitman). By this, I interpreted the idea that he is referring to life as the tillage since, in tilling land, one is planting the seeds that are to be grown, and in one's life, they are planting their seeds in society for the rest of the world to see. In one's life, they are constantly changing the world in small ways just by existing; therefore, they are planting their theoretical seeds in society just as physical seeds are planted into the ground. "Death is the harvest according" refers to the aftermath of one's life; after they are dead and gone, what has he or she left to society (Whitman)? The harvest is the result of the crop; those seeds have already been planted, grown, and are ready to be sown. They have provided their fruits and their gifts to the rest of the world. As a person dies, their seeds have already been sown; he or she has already made their initial impact on his or her world. When he or she is gone, the aftermath, the result, of how he or she had lived his or her life is what is left. This is one's "harvest;" he or she is leaving behind his or her gifts and ideas. Whitman relates this to spirituality as he believes that God has gifted us the joy of life and death, and therefore we are to rejoice in that and make positive impacts on society through our life; therefore, great harvests are to be sown after our death.
WORKS CITED
Whitman, Walt. As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing (1900). Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
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