Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Of Him I Love Day and Night explained
The narrator dreams of the death of a beloved and searches among burial-places, only to find that everywhere is a burial-place, full of the dead as much as the living.
What happens
The narrator dreams of the death of a beloved and searches among burial-places, only to find that everywhere is a burial-place, full of the dead as much as the living. This vision leads to a resolution to disregard physical memorials and accept any disposition of the body after death.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- 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
- Death and Immortality
The chapter confronts the omnipresence of death and finds satisfaction in the dissolution of the body into nature, suggesting an immortal continuity.
- Unity of Soul and Body
The dream blurs the line between life and death, and the narrator's acceptance of bodily decay affirms the unity of the physical and spiritual.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“And I found that every place was a burial-place;”
The narrator discovers that death is everywhere, not confined to cemeteries.
This realization transforms the narrator's view of the world.
“And if the corpse of any one I love, or if my own corpse, be duly render’d to powder and pour’d in the sea, I shall be satisfied,”
The narrator accepts that the body may be scattered or dissolved into nature after death.
This reflects a theme of bodily unity with the universe.
