Man finds fulfillment in sex and should thus rejoice in it, for it is only through physical love that man can take his place in the cycle of life. Whitman thinks that procreation is a creative act, an act of spiritual regeneration. The theme of procreation in these poems was revolutionary at the time of their first publication. He should be proud of his heritage and of the "Adamic" in him. Thus, man is not born debased as a result of Original Sin. Man will then be reborn through this glorification of his body, for the human body is as sacred as the spirit. Adam's children can regain this lost paradise not by denying the flesh, which had been a Puritan belief, but by accepting it. He asserts that it is not Adam but Adam's children who have really lost the Garden of Eden.
Whitman reverses this traditional Christian tenet. Man is therefore a born sinner, and his only hope of salvation lies in the grace of God, attained through Jesus Christ. This act of disobedience resulted in Original Sin, the inheritance of humanity. Adam and Eve, falling prey to Satan's temptation, disobeyed the divine command and ate the forbidden fruit of knowledge. Whitman uses many Christian concepts in his own unique way to express his individual precepts for mankind.įundamental to Christian belief is the story of the Fall of Man, interpreted either literally or symbolically. The themes are dealt with through imagery rich in Christian tradition.
The major themes of Children of Adam are procreation and physical love between man and woman. In the 1892 edition, the group consists of sixteen poems. In 1867, these poems, after a few changes, were retitled Children of Adam.
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.Are You the New Person Drawn Toward Me?.
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