Leaves of Grass · Chapter
O Hymen! O Hymenee! explained
The speaker addresses Hymen, the god of marriage, expressing a painful longing for union that is only fleetingly granted, suggesting that its continuation would be overwhelming and fatal.
What happens
The speaker addresses Hymen, the god of marriage, expressing a painful longing for union that is only fleetingly granted, suggesting that its continuation would be overwhelming and fatal.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the speaker fully internalizes the world’s suffering, feeling…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Sexuality and the Body
The poem directly invokes Hymen, the god of marriage, and explores the intense, momentary sting of sexual union and its overwhelming potential.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The speaker who cries out to Hymen in desire and frustration.
Key passages
“O Hymen! O Hymenee! O hymen! O hymenee! why do you tantalize me thus? O why sting me for a swift moment only? Why can you not continue? O why do you now cease? Is it because if you continued beyond the swift moment you would soon certainly kill me?”
The speaker asks why the god of marriage teases him with only a brief, sharp moment of union, and wonders if its continuation would be so intense it would destroy him.
The speaker's plea reveals a tension between the desire for prolonged ecstasy and the fear of its fatal intensity.
