|
|
Line 502: |
Line 502: |
| :::Behold! | | :::Behold! |
| :::A light has risen | | :::A light has risen |
− | :::which may not be denied. | + | :::which may not be denied. |
| | | |
| | | |
− | :::LIGHTS UP ON WHITMAN. TITLE: 7 Walt Whitman, "Alone I had thought"
| + | ==Continued at: [[Jonathan Ned Katz: "Comrades and Lovers," Act I, Part II]]== |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::AS WHITMAN SPEAKS HE IS JOINED, ONE BY ONE, BY A GROUP OF YOUNG MEN. WHITMAN AND THE SPEAKERS ADDRESS EACH OTHER
| |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Alone I had thought --
| |
− | :::yet soon a silent troop gathers around me,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPEAKER 1:
| |
− | :::Some walk by my side, and some behind,
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | SPEAKER 2:
| |
− | :::and some embrace my arms or neck,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::They, the spirits of friends, dead or alive -- thicker they come, a great crowd, and I in the middle,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPEAKER 3:
| |
− | :::Collecting, dispensing, singing in spring, there I wander with them,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Plucking something for tokens -- something for these, till I hit upon a name -- tossing toward whoever is near me,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPEAKER 4:
| |
− | :::Here! lilac, with a branch of pine,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPEAKER 1:
| |
− | :::Here, out of my pocket, some moss which I pulled off a live-oak in Florida, as it hung trailing down,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPEAKER 2:
| |
− | :::Here, some pinks and laurel leaves, and a handful of sage,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPEAKER 3:
| |
− | :::And here what I now draw from the water, wading in the pond-side,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::(0 here I last saw him that tenderly loves me -and returns again, never to separate from me, And this, 0 this shall henceforth be the token of comrades -- this calamus-root shall, Interchange it, youths, with each other! Let none render it back!)
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN GIVES CALAMUS-ROOT TO SYMONDS, WHO TAKES IT GLADLY, HOLDING IT UP TO AUDIENCE]
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::SCENE TITLE: 8 John Addington Symonds: "I am taking with me to London"
| |
− | | |
− | :::SYMONDS ADDRESSES AUDIENCE, HIS CONFIDANT, WITH URGENCY, ON THE TRAIL OF CALAMUS
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SYMONDS:
| |
− | :::I am taking with me to London
| |
− | :::an introduction
| |
− | :::to the American Unitarian clergyman, Moncure Conway,
| |
− | :::whose biography of Whitman appeared in the Fortnightly.
| |
− | :::From Conway I hope to learn
| |
− | :::something more
| |
− | :::about the innovator.
| |
− | :::I shall not omit
| |
− | :::to ask Conway questions
| |
− | :::about the substance
| |
− | :::of Whitman's Calamus poems
| |
− | :::with a view to hearing
| |
− | :::what a nest for it
| |
− | :::there is in America.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::TIME PASSES, HE REFOCUSES; MOOD/LIGHTING CHANGE
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I saw Conway.
| |
− | :::I could not get him
| |
− | :::to say anything explicit about Calamus.
| |
− | :::This means that Calamus
| |
− | :::is really very important
| |
− | :::and Conway refuses
| |
− | :::to talk it over with a stranger.
| |
− | :::He cannot be oblivious
| |
− | :::of its plainer meanings.
| |
− | :::If I see Conway again
| |
− | :::I shall consult him further
| |
− | :::about certain Whitman poems.
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::FRED VAUGHAN STEPS FORWARD, HIS WORKING CLASS DEMEANOR AND SPEECH CONTRAST WITH SYMONDS' ARISTOCRATIC ENGLISH
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::SCENE TITLE: 9 Fred Vaughan, "To form the acquaintance"
| |
− |
| |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | | |
− | :::TO WHITMAN
| |
− | | |
− | :::To form the acquaintance
| |
− | :::of any Boston stage man,
| |
− | :::get on one of those stages
| |
− | :::running to Charleston Bridge, or Chelsea Ferry.
| |
− | :::Introduce yourself as my friend.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::By the way, Walt,
| |
− | :::what do you think of the Common?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::You tell me Mr. Emerson came to see you.
| |
− | :::I heard him lecture on Friday last.
| |
− | :::Though much pleased with the subject,
| |
− | :::I did not at all like his strained delivery.
| |
− | :::But Walt, | |
− | :::when I thought
| |
− | :::how a few days before
| |
− | :::he had been so attentive to you,
| |
− | :::my heart warmed toward him very much.
| |
− | :::I think he has that in him
| |
− | :::which makes men
| |
− | :::capable of strong friendships.
| |
− | :::This theme he touched on,
| |
− | :::and said that
| |
− | :::a man whose heart was filled with Friendship,
| |
− | :::warm, ever-enduring,
| |
− | :::not-to-be-shaken-by-anything,
| |
− | :::was one to be set on one side
| |
− | :::apart from other men.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::VAUGHAN AND WHITMAN FORM A TABLEAU REPRESENTING SINCERE FRIENDS
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::There, Walt,
| |
− | :::what do you think of them
| |
− | :::setting up you and myself
| |
− | :::and one or two others that we know
| |
− | :::in some public place,
| |
− | | |
− | :::HE LOOKS AROUND THE STAGE AREA
| |
− | | |
− | :::with a large placard on our breasts:
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::VAUGHAN HOLDS UP A PLACARD WITH AN ORNATE SIGN: "SINCERE FRIENDS"
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Good doctrine that.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN MOVES AWAY FROM VAUGHAN TO INSPECT HIS PROOF SHEETS, AND TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM VAUGHAN'S INTENSE NEED
| |
− | | |
− | :::I am glad, Walt,
| |
− | :::you are succeeding so well with your book.
| |
− | :::Send me some of the first proof sheets.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN RESPONDS NEGATIVELY TO VAUGHAN'S DEMAND
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | | |
− | :::TO VAUGHAN
| |
− | | |
− | :::Are you the new person drawn toward me?
| |
− | :::To begin with, take warning, I am surely far different from what you suppose.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::How is this, Walt?
| |
− | :::I have written to you twice since I heard from you.
| |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Do you suppose you will find in me your ideal?
| |
− | :::Do you think it is so easy to have me become your lover?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::What the devil is the matter?
| |
− | :::Nothing serious I hope.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Do you think the friendship of me would be unalloyed satisfaction?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::I cannot succeed
| |
− | :::in hearing one word from you.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Do you think I am trusty and faithful?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::I swear
| |
− | :::I would have thought
| |
− | :::you to be the last man in the world to neglect me.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Do you see no further than this facade, this smooth and tolerant manner of me?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::I was very much pleased to hear from you.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Do you suppose yourself advancing on real ground toward a real heroic man?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::I want to see you, Walt,
| |
− | :::very much indeed.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Have you no thought 0 dreamer that it may be all maya, illusion?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::I have never thought
| |
− | :::more frequently about you.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::o the next step may precipitate you!
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::Call and see me
| |
− | :::as soon as you arrive in New York,
| |
− | :::I have much,
| |
− | :::very much
| |
− | :::to talk to you about.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::o let some past deceived one hiss in your ears, how many have prest on the same as you are pressing now,
| |
− | :::How many have fondly supposed what you are supposing now only to be disappointed.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | VAUGHAN:
| |
− | :::TIME PASSES, HE REFOCUSES; LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Walt,
| |
− | :::I am to be married tomorrow,
| |
− | :::at 213 West 43rd street.
| |
− | :::I have invited no company.
| |
− | :::I want you to be there.
| |
− | :::Do not fail, please,
| |
− | :::I am very anxious you should come.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::FOUR YEARS PASS, HE REFOCUSES; LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE
| |
− | :::Walt,
| |
− | :::my life has turned out
| |
− | :::a poor miserable failure.
| |
− | :::I have not been honest to myself,
| |
− | :::my family,
| |
− | :::nor my friends.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I have written to you, Walt,
| |
− | :::at least once a week
| |
− | :::for the last four years.
| |
− | :::Sometimes I write long letters,
| |
− | :::sometimes short ones.
| |
− | :::I often keep them months
| |
− | :::before I destroy them.
| |
− | :::There is never a day passes
| |
− | :::but what I think of you.
| |
− | :::My love my Walt
| |
− | :::is with you always.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN TURNS FROM VAUGHAN TO A PASSING STRANGER. SCENE TITLE: 10 Walt Whitman, "Passing Stranger!"
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Passing stranger! You do not know how longingly I look upon you,
| |
− | :::You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass -- you take of my beard, breast, hands, in return;
| |
− | :::I am to think of you when I sit alone or wake at night alone,
| |
− | :::I am to wait -- I do not doubt I am to meet you again,
| |
− | :::I am to see to it that I do not lose you.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHT ON EACH MAN AS HE INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO WHITMAN
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPENCER:
| |
− | :::Daniel Spencer
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::told me
| |
− | :::he had never been in a fight --
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SPENCER:
| |
− | :::do not drink at all --
| |
− | :::gone in Second New York Light Artillery,
| |
− | :::deserted, returned to it.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Slept with me.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WILSON:
| |
− | :::David Wilson, about 19.
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::walking up from Middaugh Street --
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WILSON:
| |
− | :::work in blacksmith shop in Navy Yard --
| |
− | :::live in Hampden Street
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::walks together
| |
− | :::Sunday afternoon
| |
− | :::and night.
| |
− | :::Slept with me.
| |
− |
| |
− | | |
− | OSTRANDER:
| |
− | :::Horace Ostrander from Otsego County
| |
− | :::60 miles west of Albany,
| |
− | :::twenty-eight years of age.
| |
− | :::About 1855
| |
− | :::went on voyage to Liverpool--
| |
− | :::my experiences as a green hand.
| |
− |
| |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Slept with him.
| |
− |
| |
− | TAYLOR:
| |
− | :::Jerry Taylor, from New Jersey, Second Regiment.
| |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Slept with me last night.
| |
− | :::Weather soft,
| |
− | :::cool enough,
| |
− | :::warm enough,
| |
− | :::heavenly.
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::BLACKOUT. SOUND OF DRUMS, BUGLES, MARTIAL MUSIC; PERHAPS A FEW SHOTS IN DISTANCE
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::TITLE: 11 Walt Whitman, Thomas Sawyer, Lewis K. Brown, Douglass Fox, "Began my visits"
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTS UP ON WHITMAN. IN BACKGROUND, PERHAPS, PROJECTIONS OF CIVIL WAR PHOTOS
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Began my visits
| |
− | :::among the Army hospitals.
| |
− | :::On the banks of the Potomac,
| |
− | :::a large brick mansion,
| |
− | :::the Lacy House,
| |
− | :::used as a hospital,
| |
− | :::only the worst cases.
| |
− | :::A man with his mouth blown out.
| |
− | :::Outdoors,
| |
− | :::in front,
| |
− | :::several dead bodies
| |
− | :::each covered with a brown woolen blanket,
| |
− | :::this war's regulation shroud.
| |
− | :::Nearby,
| |
− | :::at the foot of a tree,
| |
− | :::a heap
| |
− | :::of amputated feet,
| |
− | :::legs,
| |
− | :::arms,
| |
− | :::pieces of men,
| |
− | :::cut,
| |
− | :::bloody,
| |
− | :::black and blue,
| |
− | :::swelled and stinking,
| |
− | :::a load for a one-horse cart.
| |
− | :::In the garden, rear,
| |
− | :::a row of graves,
| |
− | :::a very long row of graves.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE; WHITMAN, BANTERINGLY, TO AUDIENCE AS HIS SOPHISTICATED, NEW YORK LITERARY MEN-FRIENDS
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::Have been on the battle-field among the wounded --
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::GOES TO MISSISSIPPI CAPTAIN
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::struck up a tremendous friends
| |
− | :::with a young Mississippi captain (about 19)
| |
− | :::that we took prisoner
| |
− | :::badly wounded
| |
− | :::at Fredericksburgh.
| |
− | :::He is in the hospital here,
| |
− | :::met him first in the Lacy House,
| |
− | :::his leg just cut off.
| |
− | :::Poor boy,
| |
− | :::he has suffered a great deal
| |
− | :::has eyes bright as a hawk,
| |
− | :::face pale --
| |
− | :::our affection is quite an affair,
| |
− | :::quite romantic
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::TO YOUTH, WHO PUTS HIS ARM AROUND WHITMAN'S NECK, DRAWS HIS FACE DOWN TO KISS HIM
| |
− | | |
− | :::sometimes
| |
− | :::when I lean over to say I am going,
| |
− | :::he puts his arm round my neck,
| |
− | :::draws my face down,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN LOOKS UP; TO NEW YORK FRIENDS
| |
− | | |
− | :::quite a scene
| |
− | :::for the New Bowery Theater.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::SERIOUSLY; LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I find the sick and dying soldiers cling to me --
| |
− | :::These thousands
| |
− | :::of badly wounded young men,
| |
− | :::pallid with diarrhea,
| |
− | :::dying with pneumonia,
| |
− | :::open deeper mines in me than any yet.
| |
− | :::I sometimes fancy myself with typhoid,
| |
− | :::or under the knife,
| |
− | :::tried by terrible tests,
| |
− | :::the living soul's,
| |
− | :::the body's tragedies,
| |
− | :::bursting the petty bonds of art.
| |
− | :::Compared to such scenes
| |
− | :::what are your dramas
| |
− | :::and poems,
| |
− | :::even the tearfulest?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN, SAWYER, AND BROWN MOVE TO AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER IN A TRIANGULAR DANCE OF ATTRACTION AND RETREAT. LIGHTS UP ON SAWYER, WHO INTRODUCE.S HIMSELF TO WHITMAN
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | SAWYER:
| |
− | :::Thomas Sawyer.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTS UP ON BROWN, WHO INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO WHITMAN
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | BROWN:
| |
− | :::Lewis K. Brown.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SAWYER:
| |
− | :::TO BROWN
| |
− | :::Give Walter Whitman my love and best wishes for ever;
| |
− | :::tell him I have got
| |
− | :::that little Book witch he gave me,
| |
− | :::and I shall always keep it
| |
− | :::for old acquaintance sake.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::TO SAWYER
| |
− | :::Tom,
| |
− | :::I was at Armory Hospital last evening,
| |
− | :::saw Lewy Brown,
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN SMILES AT BROWN; GOES TO HIM
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::sat with him a good while.
| |
− | :::Lew is so good,
| |
− | :::so affectionate --
| |
− | :::when I came away,
| |
− | :::he reached up his face,
| |
− | :::I put my arm around him,
| |
− | :::and we gave each other a long kiss,
| |
− | :::half a minute long.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::BROWN REACHES UP HIS FACE TO WHITMAN WHO PUTS HIS ARMS AROUND THE SOLDIER; THEN WHITMAN TURNS AWAY FROM BROWN, FOCUSES ON SAWYER
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::We talked about you, Tom.
| |
− | :::I wish you was here.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN GLANCES AT BROWN; ADDRESSES SAWYER
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Somehow I don't find the comrade that suits me to a dot --
| |
− | :::and I won't have any other,
| |
− | :::not for good.
| |
− | :::I don't know how you feel about it,
| |
− | :::but it is the wish of my heart
| |
− | :::that if you should come safe
| |
− | :::out of this war,
| |
− | :::we should come together again,
| |
− | :::where we could make a living,
| |
− | :::and be true comrades
| |
− | :::and never be separated--
| |
− | :::and take Lew Brown too.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::BROWN JOINS WHITMAN AND SAWYER. WHITMAN ADDRESSES SAWYER
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::If it is destined
| |
− | :::that we shall not meet again,
| |
− | :::you have my love
| |
− | :::whatever should keep you from me,
| |
− | :::no matter how many years.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | BROWN:
| |
− | :::TO WHITMAN
| |
− | :::I received a letter to day from Thomas Sawyer.
| |
− | :::He did not mention your letter.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN TURNS TO SAWYER, ADDRESSES HIM
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Tom,
| |
− | :::I have not heard from you for some time.
| |
− | :::Lewy Brown has received two letters.
| |
− | :::Walter in Ward E has received one.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::MOVES TO SAWYER
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I was sorry you did not come up to my room
| |
− | :::and get the things
| |
− | :::you promised to accept from me;
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN SURVEYS SAWYER'S BODY
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SAWYER:
| |
− | :::a good strong blue shirt,
| |
− | :::a pair of drawers.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::I should have often thought:
| |
− | :::"Now Tom may be wearing around his body
| |
− | :::something from me."
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Not a day passes, nor a night,
| |
− | :::but I think of you.
| |
− | ::I hope God
| |
− | :::will put it in your heart
| |
− | :::to bear toward me
| |
− | :::a little of the feeling
| |
− | :::I have for you.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::SAWYER TURNS AWAY FROM WHITMAN TO BROWN
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I suppose my letters sound strange to you,
| |
− | :::but I am only expressing
| |
− | :::the feelings of my heart.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN TURNS TO BROWN, WHO ADDRESSES HIM
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | BROWN:
| |
− | :::I am sorry to hear you wer sick, Walt.
| |
− | :::It would be better for your health
| |
− | :::if you would give yourself that furlou
| |
− | :::but the boys about the Hospital
| |
− | :::could ill spare you,
| |
− | :::if you are as good to them
| |
− | :::as you wer to me.
| |
− | :::My leg continues to mend verry slow.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::TO BROWN
| |
− | :::Lewy,
| |
− | :::dear son and comrade,
| |
− | :::your photograph has been received,
| |
− | :::and the good sight of your face welcomer than all,
| |
− | :::my darling.
| |
− | :::o Lewy,
| |
− | :::how glad I should be to have you with me.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN ADDRESSES SAWYER, TURNS BACK ON BROWN
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Tom,
| |
− | :::you did not answer
| |
− | :::my last two letters,
| |
− | :::still I will write again.
| |
− | :::I see Lewy Brown always.
| |
− | :::Lewy's leg has not healed.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Tom,
| |
− | :::I should like to know how things have gone for three months past.
| |
− | :::I can't understand
| |
− | :::why you have ceased to correspond.
| |
− | :::Do you want to shake me off?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE; END OF SAWYER-BROWN-WHITMAN TRIANGLE. WHITMAN TURNS TO A NEW FRIEND, DOUGLASS FOX, WHO APPEARS IN LIGHT. WHITMAN SPEAKS TOBROWN
| |
− |
| |
− | :::Lew,
| |
− | :::I wish you to go in Ward G
| |
− | :::and find a very dear friend of mine in bed 11
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::FOX INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO AUDIENCE
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | FOX:
| |
− | :::Douglass Fox.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::TO BROWN, INDICATING FOX
| |
− | :::Tell him I sent him my best love,
| |
− | :::and that he must not forget me,
| |
− | :::though I know he never will.
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | FOX:
| |
− | :::TO WHITMAN
| |
− | :::You will allow me to call you Father, won't you?
| |
− | :::Both my parents are dead
| |
− | :::and now, Walt,
| |
− | :::you will be a second father to me.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I have never before
| |
− | :::met with a man that I could love as I do you.
| |
− | :::Still there is nothing strange about it.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Dear son,
| |
− | :::I cannot bear the thought
| |
− | :::of being separated from you--
| |
− | :::I know I am a great fool about such things,
| |
− | :::but I tell you the truth.
| |
− | :::I do not think one night has passed
| |
− | :::when I have been at the theatre
| |
− | :::but what amid the play
| |
− | :::I would see your face before me,
| |
− | :::and I would realize
| |
− | :::how happy it would be
| |
− | :::if I could leave all the fun and noise
| |
− | :::and be with you.
| |
− | :::I hope you are quite well
| |
− | :::and with your dear wife,
| |
− | :::for I know you have long wished
| |
− | :::to be with her.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | FOX:
| |
− | :::I have often thought of what you told me
| |
− | :::when I said
| |
− | :::I am certain I will come back to Washington.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::A great many of the boys have said the same
| |
− | :::but none has returned.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | FOX:
| |
− | :::I am sorry it is so
| |
− | :::but after I had thought it over
| |
− | :::I concluded it would be better for me
| |
− | :::to go into some business here.
| |
− |
| |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTING, MOOD CHANGE
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | BUSH:
| |
− | :::INTRODUCING HIMSELF TO AUDIENCE
| |
− | :::Alonzo S. Bush
| |
− | | |
− | :::TO WHITMAN
| |
− | :::I am glad to know, Walt,
| |
− | :::that you are once more
| |
− | :::in the Noted City of Washington
| |
− | :::So that you can go often
| |
− | :::and see that Friend of ours
| |
− | :::at Armory Square Hospital
| |
− | :::Lewy K. Brown
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::BROWN JOINS BUSH IN LIGHT
| |
− | | |
− | :::that fellow
| |
− | :::that went down on your BK,
| |
− | :::both so often with me.
| |
− | :::I wish that I could see him this evening
| |
− | :::and go in the Ward Master's Room
| |
− | :::and have some fun
| |
− | :::for he is a gay boy.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE; BUSH REFOCUSES
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::I am very Sorry indeed
| |
− | :::to hear that after laying so long
| |
− | :::he is about to loose his leg.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::THROUGHOUT WHITMAN'S NEXT SPEECH WE MAY OCCASIONALLY HEAR BROWN'S GROANS AND HALF-COHERENT TALK ABOUT WHITMAN
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::Today,
| |
− | :::after dinner,
| |
− | :::Lewy Brown had his left leg amputated
| |
− | :::five inches below the knee.
| |
− | :::I was present at the operation,
| |
− | :::most of the time at the door.
| |
− | :::Lewy came out of the ether.
| |
− | :::Then it bled.
| |
− | :::They thought
| |
− | :::an artery had opened.
| |
− | :::They began to cut the stitches and make a search
| |
− | :::but after some time concluded
| |
− | :::it was only surface bleeding.
| |
− | :::They then stitched it up again
| |
− | :::and Lew felt every one of these stitches.
| |
− | :::They did not think it safe
| |
− | :::to give him more ether.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::BROWN CRIES OUT
| |
− | | |
− | :::I caught glimpses of him
| |
− | :::through the open door.
| |
− | :::At length they finished,
| |
− | :::and brought the boy in on his cot.
| |
− | :::The ether and exhaustion
| |
− | :::had their effect for some time.
| |
− | :::His face was very pale, his eyes dull.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::BROWN ASKS FOR "WALT"
| |
− | | |
− | :::He remained very sick,
| |
− | :::opprest for breath,
| |
− | :::with deathly feeling,
| |
− | :::in the stomach,
| |
− | :::head,
| |
− | :::and great pain in the leg.
| |
− | :::As usual in such cases
| |
− | :::he could feel
| |
− | :::the lost foot and leg very plainly.
| |
− | :::The toes would get twisted,
| |
− | :::and not possible to disentangle.
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::BROWN AGAIN ASKS FOR "WALT"
| |
− | :::About 7 o'clock in the evening
| |
− | :::he dozed into a sleep
| |
− | :::for a couple of hours.
| |
− | :::The rest of the night
| |
− | :::was very bad.
| |
− | :::I remained all night,
| |
− | :::slept on the adjoining cot.
| |
− | :::The same next night.
| |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE; WHITMAN REFOCUSES ON DOUGLASS FOX AND ADDRESSES HIM
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Douglass,
| |
− | :::I have thought of you many times
| |
− | :::since the days there in the hospital
| |
− | :::during the war.
| |
− | :::Lewis Brown is well.
| |
− | :::I see him often.
| |
− | :::Tom Sawyer,
| |
− | :::(Lewy Brown's friend)
| |
− | :::passed safe through the war --
| |
− | :::but we have not heard from him now for two years.
| |
− | :::All the big hospitals are long broken up.
| |
− | :::I send you my love,
| |
− | :::dear friend and soldier.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE; WHITMAN REFOCUSES ON THE AUDIENCE AS CONFIDANT; HE IS AN OLD, ILL MAN HERE, BUT STILL FULL OF INNER FIRE
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::My letters,
| |
− | :::sent to the boys
| |
− | :::in the days of the War,
| |
− | :::stir up memories
| |
− | :::joyful, painful.
| |
− | :::There is nothing beyond the comrade --
| |
− | :::the man,
| |
− | :::the woman:
| |
− | :::nothing beyond:
| |
− | :::even our lovers
| |
− | :::must be comrades:
| |
− | :::even our wives, husbands, mothers, fathers:
| |
− | :::we can't stay together, feel satisfied,
| |
− | :::grow bigger,
| |
− | :::on any other basis.
| |
− | :::You look on me now with the ravages
| |
− | :::of that war experience
| |
− | :::finally reducing me to powder.
| |
− | :::I had to give up health for it,
| |
− | :::but I am satisfied
| |
− | :::with what I got.
| |
− | :::I got the boys:
| |
− | :::the boys:
| |
− | :::thousands of them:
| |
− | :::they were,
| |
− | :::they are,
| |
− | :::they will be mine.
| |
− | :::I gave myself for them:
| |
− | :::myself:
| |
− | :::I got the boys:
| |
− | :::but for this
| |
− | :::I would never have had ''Leaves of Grass'',
| |
− | :::the consummated book.
| |
− | :::I got that:
| |
− | :::the ''Leaves'',
| |
− | :::the boys.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::ONE OF WHITMAN'S BOYS, JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS, NOW 30-YEARS OLD, FOR THE FIRST TIME REACHES OUT TO HIM. SYMONDS DIRECTLY ADDRESSES WHITMAN, WHO IS SEATED WITH HORACE TRAUBEL
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::SCENE TITLE: 12 John Addington Symonds, "When a man"
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SYMONDS:
| |
− | :::When a man
| |
− | :::has dedicated a poem to another man
| |
− | :::I think he is bound
| |
− | :::to confess the liberty.
| |
− | :::This is my excuse
| |
− | :::for sending you
| |
− | :::the crude work
| |
− | :::in which you may detectsome echo
| |
− | :::of your Calamus theme.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Since I first took up ''Leaves of Grass''
| |
− | :::in a friend's rooms
| |
− | :::at Trinity College
| |
− | :::six years ago,
| |
− | :::your poems
| |
− | :::have been my constant companions.
| |
− | :::I have found in them
| |
− | :::pure air and health --
| |
− | :::the free breath of the world
| |
− | :::when often cramped by illness.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::What one man can do
| |
− | :::by communicating to those he loves
| |
− | :::the treasures he has found
| |
− | :::I have done among my friends.
| |
− | :::I say this to tell you,
| |
− | :::as simply as I can,
| |
− | :::how much lowe you.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I am an Englishman,
| |
− | :::a historian and critic of art and literature,
| |
− | :::aged thirty,
| |
− | :::married,
| |
− | :::with three daughters.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::SYMONDS AND WHITMAN IN MOTIONLESS TABLEAU WHILE TRAUBEL INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO AUDIENCE
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | TRAUBEL:
| |
− | | |
− | :::Horace Traubel.
| |
− | :::In the last four years of Whitman's life
| |
− | :::I recorded his words faithfully
| |
− | :::after daily visits.
| |
− | :::He knew I would write of him someday.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN, RESPONDING TO SYMONDS, SPEAKS TO TRAUBEL
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | :::That was the first of Symonds' letters.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::ADDRESSING SYMONDS ALONG WITH TRAUBEL
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Symonds has always seemed to me
| |
− | :::a forthright man,
| |
− | :::unhesitating,
| |
− | :::without cant:
| |
− | :::not slushing over,
| |
− | :::not freezing up.
| |
− | :::He is warm
| |
− | :::(not too warm),
| |
− | :::a bit inquisitive,
| |
− | :::ingratiating.
| |
− | :::A Symonds letter
| |
− | :::is a red day for my calendar.
| |
− | :::I am always strangely moved by a letter from Symonds:
| |
− | :::it makes the day,
| |
− | :::it makes many days,
| |
− | :::sacred.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | SYMONDS:
| |
− | :::TO WHITMAN
| |
− | | |
− | :::Your words
| |
− | :::give me the keenest pleasure.
| |
− | :::I had not exactly expected to hear from you.
| |
− | :::I was beginning to dread
| |
− | :::that the poem I sent
| |
− | :::confounded your own pure feeling
| |
− | :::with the baser metal
| |
− | :::of my own nature.
| |
− | :::You have reassured me.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::For many years
| |
− | :::I have been attempting
| |
− | :::to explain in verse
| |
− | :::some of the forms
| |
− | :::of what you call "adhesiveness."
| |
− | :::I have traced passionate friendship
| |
− | :::through Greece,
| |
− | :::Rome,
| |
− | :::the medieval
| |
− | :::and the modern world.
| |
− | | |
− |
| |
− | :::While engaged in this work
| |
− | :::I first read ''Leaves of Grass''.
| |
− | :::Especially did I then learn that
| |
− | :::the Comradeship,
| |
− | :::which I conceived
| |
− | :::as on a par
| |
− | :::with the sexual feeling
| |
− | :::was ''real''--
| |
− | :::not a delusion of distorted passions,
| |
− | :::not a dream of the past --
| |
− | :::but a vital bond
| |
− | :::of man to man.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Yet even then
| |
− | :::how hard I found it --
| |
− | :::brought up in English feudalism,
| |
− | :::educated at an aristocratic school
| |
− | :::and over-refined university
| |
− | :::to be a simple human being.
| |
− | :::How you helped me!
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::I have pored for continuous hours
| |
− | :::over the pages of Calamus
| |
− | :::(as I used to poor over Plato),
| |
− | :::longing to hear you speak,
| |
− | :::burning for a revelation
| |
− | :::of your developed meaning,
| |
− | :::panting to ask --
| |
− | :::is this what you would indicate?
| |
− | :::Most of all
| |
− | :::did I desire
| |
− | :::to hear from your own lips
| |
− | :::some story of athletic friendship
| |
− | :::from which to learn the truth.
| |
− | :::Yet I dared not address you.
| |
− | :::Shall I ever be permitted to question you?
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | WHITMAN:
| |
− | | |
− | :::TO TRAUBEL
| |
− | :::Well, what do you think of that?
| |
− | :::Do you think that could be answered?
| |
− | :::You know I hate to be catechized.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::Symonds is right,
| |
− | :::no doubt,
| |
− | :::to ask the questions:
| |
− | :::I am just as much right
| |
− | :::if I do not answer them.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::TO SYMONDS
| |
− | :::I often say to myself about Calamus
| |
− | :::perhaps it means more or less
| |
− | :::than what I thought myself.
| |
− | :::means different:
| |
− | :::perhaps I don't know
| |
− | :::what it all means
| |
− | :::perhaps never did know.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::TO TRAUBEL
| |
− | | |
− | :::My first instinct
| |
− | :::about all that Symonds writes
| |
− | :::is violently reactionary
| |
− | | |
− | :::TO SYMONDS
| |
− | | |
− | :::is strong and brutal for no, no, no.
| |
− | :::Then the thought intervenes
| |
− | :::that I maybe do not know all my own meanings.
| |
− | :::Sometime or other
| |
− | :::I will respond to Symonds
| |
− | :::definitely about Calamus.
| |
− | | |
− | :::TO TRAUBEL
| |
− |
| |
− | :::You will be writing about Calamus some day
| |
− | :::and what I say
| |
− | :::may help to clear your ideas.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | :::WHITMAN ENDS EMPHATICALLY, EVEN DESPERATELY -- HE KNOWS HIS SEXUAL MAN-LOVE CALAMUS POEMS MAY WELL COMPROMISE HIS FUTURE REPUTATION AS REPRESENTATIVE AMERICAN MAN AND POET
| |
− | | |
− | :::Calamus needs clear ideas:
| |
− | :::it may be easily, innocently distorted.
| |
− | | |
− | | |
− | ==End Act I==
| |
− | | |
− | ==[http://www.outhistory.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ned_Katz:_%22Comrades_and_Lovers%2C%22_Act_II "Comrades and Lovers," Act II]==
| |