Battle
According to our speaker, pioneering is a lot like battle. Conquering new lands, setting up shop in new territories, all thanks to some brute strength and serious perseverance. And never ending ran...
Strength
A large part of our speaker's attention (and hence a large part of this poem) is devoted to describing and admiring the tough work that pioneers do. Their feats of strength—chopping down forests,...
Love and Friendship
Our speaker's admiring love for the pioneers (and perhaps for the whole world) draws everything in the poem together. And part of what he praises and admires about pioneers? Why, their comradeship...
Inclusiveness
This speaker wants everyone to join in on the fun. Anybody and everybody can and should be a pioneer. In fact, we are all pioneers. Go figure. In Whitman's world, everybody is connected to everyone...