Summary and Form
"The Sleepers" is one of the poems from the 1855
first edition of Leaves of Grass. This is a
simple poem, dedicated to exploring an idea of
democratic empathy. Structurally this poem is
composed of lists and anecdotes loosely arranged.
The non-hierarchical nature of the poem reinforces
the idea of democracy on which it is based: a list
works through juxtaposition and random assemblage,
not analysis or evaluation.
Commentary
This poem explores one of the major principles behind
Whitman's poetry, that of empathy. Whitman makes the
assertion here that he can identify so completely
with another human being as to dream the same dreams
they do. Through sleep, which acts as a leveler or
democratizing force (much as death does in other
places in Whitman's poetry), all consciousnesses
become equally accessible and equally worthwhile. It
is important to notice that while Whitman advocates a
democratic equality here he does not wish to destroy
the great diversity of persons and experiences: we
are not all the same.
The type of empathy Whitman claims to be able to
achieve extends so far as to allow him to incorporate
others' anecdotes and past experiences into his own
narrative. That things can be vicariously
experienced is a powerful concept, for it enables the
kind of democratic communion Whitman describes here.
Furthermore, it makes possible a kind of
understanding between old and young, whites and
Indians, masters and slaves. This potential for
sympathy can drive democracy still further.
There is something highly erotic about this communion
of souls, which comes through very strongly at
certain points in this poem. Whitman focuses on a
male lover here, and while certainly biographical
evidence can account for this it should also be noted
as a symbol of ultimate sympathy and communication.
For Whitman, who believes that the body is an
indispensable part of the soul, sex represents not
just physical eroticism but also the highest form of
emotional and intellectual discourse.
Such intense communion is not endlessly sustainable,
though, and thus Whitman differentiates between this
state of poetry-making and the mundane daytime world.
Unconsciousness--sleep--stands in for a kind of
democratic utopia that is achievable only at ideal
moments. In its highest form this is a state of
possibility and flux that washes away the
misunderstandings of the everyday and replaces them
with, to quote Keats, "sleep and
poetry."
