In section 5 the poet explains the constituents and characteristics of a great city. A great city is not made merely of long docks, tall and costly buildings, and good libraries and schools, nor is it the “place of the most numerous population.” A real city is a place “where the slave ceases”; where “fierce men and women pour forth”; where “equanimity is illustrated in affairs”; and where “speculations on the soul are encouraged.” The great city stands where “the cleanliness of the sexes stands” and where the “faithfulest friends” stand. Such a city is beloved by its “orators and bards” and “loves them in return.”
In enumerating the characteristics and elements which make a great city, Whitman is restating some of his fundamental ideas—for instance, his opposition to slavery, his belief in “inside authority” and in the “cleanliness of the sexes.” These beliefs are central to Whitman’s credo and are expressed in other poems, such as “Song of Myself” and the poems in Children of Adam.
Whitman says, in section 6, that “a defiant deed” defeats all “beggarly” arguments and conquers “the materials of cities.” A “strong being” who embodies the power of the race is the master of old materials and customs. The value of a community is therefore represented by its strong men and women rather than by its respectability or money-making capacity. Without strong people, what use are “theology ... traditions [and] statute-books”?
Whitman does not think that the strong person is a tyrant; he is, rather, a spiritual leader. This leader raises his voice and power against all materialistic domination, and “the floridness of the materials of cities” is overcome by his innate spiritual energy. He is a nonconformist since he goes against the prevailing tide of materialistic gain. He is thus a representative of the spirit of the broadaxe.
Section 7 describes a barren landscape wherein the miners work. The miners and smiths produce the axe. The broadaxe has served man and mankind over the centuries. It has “served the Hebrew, the Persian, the most ancient Hindustanee,” as well as the druids” and “the hardy pirates of the Baltic.” It has “served all great works on land and all great works on the sea.” It has served the living and the dead.
Whereas in earlier sections the broadaxe symbolized individuality, in this section it stands for unity. It unites the ancient age with the modern age. It serves the ends of pleasure as well as those of war. It also serves the dead, since it is used for making coffins. Thus it is a link between two worlds. Whitman emphasizes the unifying role of the broadaxe in the history of civilization.
In section 8, “the European headsman” is described as mask’d, clothed in red,” and leaning “on a ponderous axe.” His axe, fresh from slaughter, drips with the blood of his victims. The poet imagines these martyrs, including people who rose in revolt and “died for the good cause.” Now the scaffold is empty, and Whitman sees “the headsman withdraw and become useless.” The axe is the “mighty and friendly emblem of power” of a new race—the Americans.
Whitman’s faith in the nineteenth-century concept of progress through continual human endeavor is revealed in this section. The dawn of democracy was preceded by the darkness of feudal oppression and injustice. Man’s advance toward democracy was marked by intense struggles in which many valiant fighters lost their lives. But they had faith in their cause, which eventually succeeded. The broadaxe becomes the sign and symbol of this evolutionary process. It becomes the “emblem of the power,” says Whitman, “of my own race.”
In section 9, Whitman describes how “the axe leaps” to its work and the forests surrender to its power. The axe builds citadels, academies, ceilings, organs, windows, panels, chairs, workboxes, “boat, frame, and what not.” Hospitals and steamboats are built with the aid of the axe. Many people use the axe.
There are three clear divisions in this section. First, the role of the axe in construction work is concrete proof of the advances of man and civilization. This program is especially relevant to American society since “capitols of States” are its visible proof. The forests are “solid,” the utterances are “fluid,” and their combination indicates the coming together of the material and the spiritual. Second, attention is focused on the multifarious users of the axe, whose “shapes,” the forms it makes, are described. Third, the poet speaks of the importance of communications, like bridges, to suggest another utility of the axe. The idea of transportation, or passage, is significant in Whitman’s poetry.
Whitman continues, in section 10, his description of the shapes formed by the axe. The image of the “coffin-shape” is followed by that of “the bride’s bed” and “the babe’s cradle.” The axe also creates roofs over happy homes, such as that of “the well-married young man and woman.” On the other hand, “the shape of the prisoner’s place in the court-room” and the couch of the “adulterous unwholesome couple” are also products of the axe. The axe produces “the door that admits good news and bad news.”
The function and the role of the broadaxe characterize the whole cycle of life and death, from the cradle to the coffin. The axe symbolizes the coexistence of good and evil. For example, the picture of the chaste wife is contrasted with that of the adulterous couple. The symbol of the door is morally ambivalent; it is characterized by both good and evil. In this way the axe becomes a complex moral symbol.
In section 11, the shape of a woman rises. She is a striking figure. She moves among the “gross and soil”d” yet is not soiled by them. She is “considerate,” “friendly,” and “the best belov’d,” and she has no fears. She maintains her poise despite “quarrels” and “smutty expressions” because she is self-possessed. She is “strong” because “she too is a law of Nature.”
This impressive personality is Whitman’s New Woman. She is highly individualistic and yet well adjusted to the poet’s concept of a democratic society. But her relationship with her environment is not always harmonious, although her self-possession prevents evil from harming her. Through this woman, the motif of the broadaxe as a symbol of mystic evolution is realized and strengthened.
In section 12, the poet refers to the rise of the “shapes of Democracy,” the outcome of centuries of human endeavor. These shapes will inspire other shapes; eventually, the democratic shapes will cover the whole world.
This is the culmination of the poet’s vision of the axe: it has now become the symbol of the total and full democracy. The concept of the “shape” is contrasted with that of formlessness. The “shape” is creative, purposive, individualistic, and it grows in terms of time and space; it is part of a cycle and also a proof of progress. The poet’s vision reveals his concept of democracy and his belief that the whole world will be united in harmony, peace, and love. This is man’s dream of the future, and the broadaxe becomes the symbol of that unrealized dream.
