Analysis Of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry By Ralph Waldo Emerson

When thinking of an American poet a person’s first thought will be of Walt Whitman. This is no accident or act of fate. Whitman purposely aimed to become a True Poet for America, as described by Ralph Waldo Emerson’sâ€Å"The Poet†. He did this through his elements and themes of his poetry which transformed him into an eternal man, and speaker of all people. Whitman’s poem â€Å"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry† not only portrays these aspects of him but also shows how he is a Transcendentalist through the themes of time, human connectivity, and beauty. In â€Å"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry† time is an important theme. Time is constantly moving forward and flowing like the river. Nothing can stop it and it is what divides people from the rest of their fellow humanity. The ferry represents Whitman in which it is the only thing that can go back and forth across the river to allow ideas to be shared and people to connect. Whitman recognizes that everyone is joined by certain ideas and ideals and because of this his work will remain everlasting since it will always be relevant to the human soul. In this poem Whitman tries to persuade the reader that there are more things that connect humans than divide them. He also wants to reassure the reader that they are not alone and that he is â€Å"...with you and know how/ it is† (Whitman 3.3) Even something as massive as time cannot severe human bonds because it is the universality of human experience and ideas that create them. The True Poet is also an eternal man,