Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Then Last of All explained
The chapter reflects on the final, encompassing meaning drawn from the natural world—specifically the tides—and how their rhythmic swell and ebb mirror the poet's own creative and mortal journey, culminating in the song itself.
What happens
The chapter reflects on the final, encompassing meaning drawn from the natural world—specifically the tides—and how their rhythmic swell and ebb mirror the poet's own creative and mortal journey, culminating in the song itself.
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
- Death and Immortality
The final chapter contemplates the ebb and flow of existence, suggesting a mystic human meaning that transcends the individual.
- Celebration of Nature and the Universe
The tides and shores are central metaphors, celebrating the natural cycles that give shape to life and art.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The speaker reflects on being enclosed and shaped by the tides, embodying the mystic human meaning.
- Walt Whitman
The poet identifies with the tides, asserting that his brain and voice are formed by their law.
Key passages
“Then last of all, caught from these shores, this hill, Of you O tides, the mystic human meaning: Only by law of you, your swell and ebb, enclosing me the same, The brain that shapes, the voice that chants this song.”
Finally, from this landscape and the tides, I grasp the hidden human significance: I am governed by your rhythm of rise and fall, which also surrounds me, forming the mind and the voice that sings this poem.
The poet concludes that his creative and mortal self is inseparable from the natural law of the tides.
