Whitman wrote "Leaves of Grass" throughout the course of his life and during his lifetime revised it several times until his death. it is a short collection of his poem that rely heavily on his concept of "Self" and draw influences from religion and spirituality, Christianity primarily. He often makes several allusions to God and Christ using common things to represent the two. His poem "The Ship Starting" was included in "Leaves of Grass" and throughout it we find many of the common themes that were characteristics of Whitman's writing style with it's heavy reliance on Christianity and his collective version of the human being which was referred to as his "Self."
"LO! the unbounded sea!
On its breast a ship starting, spreading all her sails---an ample Ship, carrying even her moonsails; The pennant is flying aloft, as she speeds, she speeds so stately---below, emulous waves press forward, They surround the Ship, with shining curving motions, and foam (Whitman.)"
This poem is one of the first poems that the readers finds in "Leaves of Grass" and the symbolism in this poem is rich. The first line introduces the "unbounded sea" which initially seems unimportant but after analyzing the rest of the poem the meaning behind the ship becomes evident. The sea alludes to the Earth, representing the place where the ship sails and the nature of it's sailing. It represents the untamed Earth and the place where the ship must navigate and the passengers must spend their lives navigating without being overcome by it's rough and destructive nature.
The next symbol the reader comes across is the ship. The ship, which spends it's day carrying passengers must navigate the sea, Earth. The ship can thus be representative of the vessel that is humanity. Humans must navigate the course of their lives on Earth and attempt to find their's way. Through Whitman's concept of "Self" we are all one and thus are all one person. This clarifies as to why there are not multiple boats for each individual human and instead there is one large ship for the entire mankind.
The third symbol in the poem are the waves. As Whitman writes the waves carry the ship "emulously" which means it has an innate desire to excel. The ships carry humanity on their mission to excel and to be the best there ever was, which Whitman was a strong proponent of. The waves are thus representative of the collective self and the human desire to become the best. These are the symbols that are used throughout the poem and each one supports the others in ways that allow it to exist or reveal the nature behind each term thus giving away it's greater meaning.
The terms alone in this poem are not much and initially the poem is seen to be about the story of a ship sailing across the ocean. Upon further analysis the real meaning of the poem is evident and the reader finds evidence of Whitman using his well known concept of "Self." Each symbol assists each other in the poem and their meaning are evident from one another.
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