49 pages • 1 hour read
Leaves of Grass
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Summary
Background
Poem Summaries & Analyses
“I Celebrate Myself” [“Song of Myself”]
“Come Closer to Me” [“A Song for Occupations”]
“To Think of Time . . . . To Think Through” [“To Think of Time”] Summary
“I Wander All Night in My Vision” [“The Sleepers”]
“The Bodies of Men and Women Engirth” [“I Sing the Body Electric”]
“Sauntering the Pavement or Riding the Country Byroads” [“Faces”]
“A Young Man Came to Me With” [“Song of the Answerer”]
“Suddenly Out of Its Stale and Drowsy” [“Europe: The 72d and 73d Years of These States”]
“Clear the Way There Jonathan!” [“A Boston Ballad”]
“There Was a Child Went Forth”
“Who Learns My Lesson Complete?”
“Great Are the Myths . . . . I Too Delight” [“Great Are the Myths”]
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Literary Devices
Further Reading & Resources
Tools
“Sauntering the Pavement or Riding the Country Byroads” [“Faces”]Chapter Summaries & Analyses
“Sauntering the Pavement or Riding the Country Byroads” [“Faces”] Summary
As he walks or rides in the neighborhood, the speaker observes all different kinds of faces. There is a huge variety of features and expressions, and the speaker appreciates them all without judgment. Some faces are for the most part attractive or at least interesting in some way; others are grotesque, ugly, or repulsive.
However, the faces are only surface; the speaker is not going to be tricked by appearances. After describing people he has seen in mental asylums, including his own brother, the speaker states that eventually, they will assume a different, and this time perfect, form.
As the speaker envisions the evolutionary process, more faces appear, guided by a figure the speaker describes as the “Lord” (Line 47) or the “Master” (Line 57). These faces reflect their link to that divine life force, which will eventually manifest in all people; imperfection is temporary, and the speaker can wait.
The final section is devoted to women, especially the beautiful face an old Quaker grandmother, who sits in her chair on the porch of a farmhouse.
“Sauntering the Pavement or Riding the Country Byroads” [“Faces”] Analysis
In later editions this poem underwent many minor revisions and was given several different titles. In the second edition in 1856, it was titled “Poem of Faces.
