Leaves of Grass, Thought IV summary
Thought IV of 358 · Book 5: Calamus · 1 min to read the chapter
In Thought IV, the speaker considers people with status, money, and learning, judging their gains empty unless they affect body and soul. These outward successes give way to a bleak picture of people who mock themselves and others, miss what is real, and live by habit rather than awareness.
What happens
- The speaker introduces people who gain rank, honors, riches, and learning.
- The speaker sees these gains as slipping away unless they affect body and soul.
- Such people often appear stripped bare, mocking both themselves and one another.
- Their happiness contains decay, and they unknowingly mistake false realities for true ones.
- The speaker ends by picturing lives governed by habit as sorrowful sleepwalking through dim light.
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In this chapter
What to notice
The final image gathers the speaker’s charges into a picture of motion without awareness. Outward activity does not amount to fully conscious living.
Quick check
What gives people's achievements lasting significance for the speaker?
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