So I am gonna start with my take on the titles of the poems, “From Pent-up Aching Rivers” and “I Sing the Body Electric.” First impressions on “From Pent-up Aching Rivers,” was an suppressing emotion until they began to overflow. For “I Sing the Body Electric,” my first thought was of the musical Grease (I don’t know why), the line “it’s electrifying,” something that is intriguing and caught the attention of others. While in class, however; we discussed how it actually was more along the lengths of technological advancement.

In the second stanza of “I Sing the Body Electric,” Whitman writes, “Was it doomed that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves.” I viewed this as a reference to the story of Original Sin from the Bible. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they became aware and embarrassed that they were naked and clothed themselves. This makes sense with section 4, as discussed in class this section describes a need for companionship. Something that is again, referred to in Genesis, when God creates Adam and creates Eve from piece of Adam, so that he may never be alone.

By looking at this poem from a biblical stand point it appears that Whitman is talking about how Original Sin as if it were the corruption of sex and procreation. As if, sex was once not a taboo subject, but rather understood and accepted by all genders, though it has been long forgotten (clearly by the shock that women enjoy sex as well).

What do you all think? Do you think that Whitman references the Original Sin for any specific reason beyond the starting point of moral corruption? Or do you think it was simply a passing reference that had no real impacted on the point of the poem?

Original Sin

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