I Hear America Singing

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Structure

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Literary Devices Structure

“I Hear America Singing” is structured around the metaphorical accumulation of songs into a swelling chorus that represents the growing nation. The speaker opens the poem by announcing that they can hear “varied carols” (line 1) being sung. They then proceed to enumerate a range of different singers. Most of these singers are male laborers, though the speaker does mention women in line 8. The speaker then concludes the poem with a trio of lines in which they affirm that each of the individuals named throughout the poem sings a song that is truly unique to them:

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

As these lines (lines 9–11) suggest, each “song” referenced in the poem should be understood as a symbol for what makes each person unique—that is, “what belongs to him or her and to none else.” However, each “song” also symbolizes the distinct contribution each individual makes to the larger community. It is in this sense that the poem’s structure as an accumulation of songs becomes clearest—and not just accumulation, but a braiding together of distinct melodies. The many “strong melodious songs” implicitly swell together in a great chorus that represents America.