17 pages • 34 minutes read
A Glimpse
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Symbols & Motifs
Interstice
An interstice by definition is “a space that intervenes between things,” “a gap or break in something generally continuous,” or “a short space of time between events” ("interstice." Merriam-Webster, 2022). The “interstice” is symbolic of Whitman’s poem itself, as it represents a short space of time experienced by the speaker. More specifically, this short space of time microscopes in on an intimate moment shared between the speaker and their lover. The poem is also an “interstice” for the reader, as it takes up the short amount of time in the reader’s day to consume it. The “interstice” is representative of the private life that underlies everything that occurs in the public sphere; it is the opening, or the “gap,” through which the private lives of individuals can be observed. As relayed in the first line, it is the “glimpse” that is “through an interstice caught.” This opening, or gap, breaks up the general focus on the communal life of the workers, and shifts the focus to the individual.
Winter
The setting of Whitman’s poem is described in the second line. The “workmen and drivers” gather “late of a winter night” (Line 2). Winter often symbolically connects to death, sadness, and solitude in literature. In the context of Whitman’s poem, the winter weather outside of the “bar-room” where the workers gather represents the coldness, both literal and figurative, that threatens outside in the world. Beyond one’s private sphere, the outside world can be unforgiving and unwelcoming. It is this coldness that drives everyone towards human connection for warmth and friendship. The workers gather “around the stove” (Line 2) after a long day’s work, soaking in the warmth from the fire and sharing “drinking and oath and smutty jest,” stereotypical social rituals. While the workers are brought together by the cold winter night, the two lovers find their own respite from the cold in one another’s company. They sit “near” and hold one another “by the hand” (Line 4). They find both physical and emotional comfort from the outside world through human love and connection.
Youth
Whitman features a number of contrasting features in his poem: cold/winter and warmth, public sphere and private life. Another one of these contrasts is between youth and experience. The “workmen and drivers” gathered in the “bar-room” (Line 2), sharing drinks, “oath and smutty jest” (Line 6), are the more experienced citizens of the world. They are those of the working class, those hardened by toil and worldly knowledge. These more experienced individuals stand in contrast to the “youth who loves me and whom I love” (Line 4). “Youth” implies innocence, purity, and vivacity; it implies newness and energy. Just as the winter encourages individuals to seek human connection as a means to escape the cold and harsh reality of the world, the “youth” provides the countermeasure to this harshness, an antidote to life’s experiences, both wanted and unwanted.
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By Walt Whitman
