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Noah Zenger
Ms. Zepp
English 4 Honors
April 30, 2015
Pioneers! O Pioneers!
Over his career as a poet Walt Whitman wrote much about hard work and the value of
doing work yourself. "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" is one of the most notable of his poems. In this
poem Whitman urges forward motion to every kind of pioneer; whatever your journey may be he
urges tireless effort. To convey this message Whitman uses repetition and imagery throughout
the poem.
Repetition is one of the most noticeable literary devices that Whitman uses in this poem.
One use of repetition that particularly sticks out is the urging exclamation of "Pioneers! O
Pioneers!" that cries out from the end of every stanza. This exclamation is meant as motivation, a
battle cry for all pioneers whatever the journey may be he is urging them to move forward.
Through this exclamation it seems that Whitman is including the reader in his use of "Pioneers"
saying that the reader is a pioneer on a journey of their own.
Another example of repetition in this work is the word "race". Whitman uses the word
race to refer to people from all over, referring to us all as "youthful sinewy races". He uses it as if
to say that if one is a forward moving pioneer than they are part of a superior race of the future.
He urges all pioneers to pick up their tasks from where the elder "race" left off and continue to
push forward in the mission of development and the discovery of new territory.
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In "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" Whitman's uses of imagery are very vivid and really allow the
reader to visualize this theme of forward motion. In the 6th stanza his uses of imagery are quite
literally of the pioneers moving forward.
"We detachments steady throwing,
down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, as we go, the unknown ways,
Pioneers! O pioneers!"(Whitman6)
In this stanza, the reader can see the pioneers moving down cliffs, through passes, and up
mountains. This imagery is not only meant literally but figuratively as well. Although Whitman
is referring to the actual pioneers of the west, he is also referring to anyone on any kind of
journey whether it is that of a exploration, scientific, personal, or spiritual nature. As long as one
is moving forward in one sense or another, Whitman is urging them forward; warning them not
to give up on their progress, not to walk away from their work. He encourages them to continue
"pioneering" until the next generation is ready to pick up the task.
Whitman's uses of imagery in the 7th stanza convey more than just moving forward but
also the changes and progress that are made in the journeys of pioneers.
"We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving,
Pioneers! O pioneers!" (Whitman7)
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Whitman's use of "primeval forests felling," show conveys not only the discovery of new
territory but the changing of it; a progression of development in a new frontier.
A similar idea is also supported by the line: "We the surface broad surveying,". The
image of surveying a surface communicates not only discovery but planning for the future. As
the surveyor builds upon the newly discovered soil, so the pioneer improves upon his older
methods using what he learns from his latest discovery. Whitman makes a point by using the
word "surface". This word's presence shows not only the planning of new developments, but also
how much more there is left to be discovered. By using this one word Whitman shows the reality
that as pioneers on our adventures we have only scratched the surface of what is left to discover.
In the next line: "we the virgin soil upheaving," Whitman shows the piercing of the
surface to develop the idea of the vastness of what is unknown to every pioneer. Of course this
also reiterates the previously described concept of developing undiscovered territory. The
upheaving of soil also conveys an idea of growth and new life. The upheaving of the soil could
be to allow the planting of crops, which allows population growth. This image returns to the
central idea of moving forward and advancing on the frontiers that all pioneers face in their
personal and collective courses.
This imagery continues in subtle ways through the lines, there is a short time of rest that
is described in stanza 25:
"Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged, nodding on
our way?
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Yet a passing hour I yield you, in your tracks to pause oblivious
Pioneers! O pioneers!"(Whitman25)
In this stanza the pioneers find the road ahead growing tough and get discouraged. Whitman
allows them a time of rest near the end of their work. But the time of rest is short and Whitman
concludes this ode with a call to arms; a final charge into the unknown, to make as much
progress as they can before the youth are ready to pick up the great task from their elders.
"Till with a sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the day-break call-hark! how loud and clear I hear it wind;
Swift! to the head of the army!-swift! spring to your places, Pioneers! O
pioneers."(Whitman26)
Whitman urges them on in this final call but this time the shouting of "Pioneers! O pioneers." is
ended with a period to show that the end of this generation's struggle is near, and that it is almost
time for the next generation to pick up their tools and continue into the unknown.
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Works Cited
Whitman, Walt. "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" Leaves of Grass. N.p.: n.p., 1900. N. pag. Print.
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