We Two Boys Together Clinging

Portraits of Masculinity

Poem

By: Walt Whitman

Date: 1855

Source: Whitman, Walt. "We Two Boys Together Clinging." in Leaves of Grass, 1855.

About the Author: Walt Whitman (1819–1892) born on Long Island, New York was a quintessential American poet, known for such poems as "Oh Captain, My Captain" (1866), on the subject of Abraham Lincoln. His most famous work is Leaves of Grass, a book that originally consisted of twelve poems, and after many editions, eventually included 293 poems. Whitman was also a skilled journalist and essayist.

INTRODUCTION

Walt Whitman's poem "We Two Boys Together Clinging" is often identified as a poem of homosexual love, a label breeched from its title and the history of its author. Other scholars insist the poem represents a unique concept of the brotherhood of two young men, forged by the experiences of war. In either interpretation, the poem paints a portrait of masculinity through its setting of soldiering during the Civil War (1861–1865). Whitman's poetry, including "We Two Boys Together Clinging", was written before the "unspoken love" of homosexuality had a name to be spoken of. The context of the poem recalls the camaraderie of men through the challenges and ruggedness of this American war. Enveloping the romance of soldiering, the lines of the poem easily echo the ancient wars of the Romans as much as modern and contemporary wars through which notions of pride, glory, and masculinity are still associated. Whitman's portrayal of this intense companionship developed from "excursions making" and "sailing, soldiering, thieving, threatening …" often leaves the reader with notions of survival, learned (or inherited) skill, manipulating the enemy, strength of body and intelligence, and the pursuit of adventure—all aspects society traditionally perceive as masculine.

PRIMARY SOURCE

WE two boys together clinging,
One the other never leaving,
Up and down the roads going, North and South excursions making,
Power enjoying, elbows stretching, fingers clutching,
Arm'd and fearless, eating, drinking, sleeping, loving.
No law less than ourselves owning, sailing, soldiering, thieving, threatening,
Misers, menials, priests alarming, air breathing, water drinking, on the turf or the sea-beach dancing,
Cities wrenching, ease scorning, statutes mocking, feebleness chasing,
Fulfilling our foray.

SIGNIFICANCE

Masculinity throughout literature's history has been portrayed in similar respects to Whitman's poem. For instance, Stephen Crane's Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage uses its title to convey the idea of a wound made during battle to be part of the glory and honor of war. The main character, Henry Fleming, does not find peace within himself until he has "rid himself of the red sickness of battle." Towards the conclusion of Crane's story, Henry reflects on his abandonment of a fellow "tattered soldier," but can rest his conscience now that he has been a full participant in fighting the enemy:

With this conviction came a store of assurance. He felt a quiet manhood, nonassertive but of sturdy and strong blood. He knew that he would no more quail before his guides wherever they should point. He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man.

Masculinity is celebrated through trial and error in this book—discovering what makes one "a man" after realizing one's cowardice. Because he has found his inner masculinity, he can reap the fruits of his glory:

He had been an animal blistered and sweating in the heat and pain of war. He turned now with a lover's thirst to images of tranquil skies, fresh meadows, cool brooks—an existence of soft and eternal peace. This portrait of natural rewards is reminiscent of those described by Whitman: "air breathing, water drinking, on the turf or the seabeach dancing;" although simple, these life aspects are seen in a new light after playing on the edge of death. The Red Badge of Courage leaves the reader with a sense that once a male has been through the mean and rugged decisions and actions of war he can call himself a man in knowing his competency on the battlefield and his courage. Like the soldiers of Whitman's poem, he has reached his masculine utopia, "fulfill[ed] [his] foray."

Ernest Hemingway is also associated with masculine literature, not only in subject, but in method and form. His novella The Old Man and the Sea gives readers a man, Santiago, pitted against the unyielding elements of the sea in pursuit of catching a great fish, in turn proving to the reader an able man. Recalling lines from Whitman's poem, he is "Arm'd and fearless"—still rugged and skilled enough to pull in a great fish, and battle the sharks that devour it, only able to rest after resurfacing his masculinity.

Be it Whitman, Crane, or Hemingway, each make identifiable marks as writers in respect to the dignity of being a man and the self-gratitude that it rewards. Stories such as these ignite the desire for young men to brave the world's dangers and older men to reminisce of similar stories or experiences. And although there is respect in celebrating masculinity, other texts, such as Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars, a play that tells the story of a young Irish husband eager to make a name for himself in the fight for independence, warn against the romance of it blinding men in such a way that its pursuit seems more foolish than wise.

In contemporary times, after the sexual revolutions of the 1920s and 1960s, although sexuality has become more an open topic for discussion and rigid gender stereotypes have softened, traditional depictions of masculinity are still prevalent in literary contexts—be it novel, magazine, or screenplay. Larry McMurtry, known for his screenwriting for Brokeback Mountain and Pulitzer Prize winning book Lonesome Dove, has been a writer of masculine ideals such as the old American West and frontier since 1961. Brokeback Mountain, originally written by Annie Proulx, illuminates homosexuality against a very masculine Western landscape, blurring some lines and asking questions about the perceived absolute heterosexuality of the masculine hero, the cowboy.

Contemporary masculinity can be seen in the unconventional GQ Magazine, whose byline is "Fashion in an unashamedly masculine context," combining a traditionally feminine subject in a masculine manner. Modern readers of such a magazine are often referred to as "metrosexuals," or heterosexual males with an appreciation for aesthetics of self and lifestyle, striving to improve and uphold both. On the other hand, masculinity is shown through straightforward messages of strength and success, accompanied by hard rock music, in the U.S. Army commercials, intriguing "boys" to be "men." Also, the Spike TV channel holds high a traditional, macho spirit of masculinity, offering programs such as 007 James Bond marathons, and Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Lee, and Arnold Schwarzenegger films. Phrases like "babes in distress," "dangerous curves" and "something for every man" are used by the station to attract men's attention towards content that has timelessly helped characterize masculinity.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Web sites

Nobelprize.org. "Ernest Hemingway Biography." 〈http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1954/hemingwaybio.html〉 (accessed April 14, 2006).

The Walt Whitman Archive. Folsom, Ed and Kenneth M. Price. "Walt Whitman." 〈http://www.whitmanarchive.org/biography/biographymainindex.html〉 (accessed April 14, 2006).

Bartleby.com. Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. 〈http://www.bartleby.com/142/index1.html〉 (accessed April 14, 2006).