Summary

Passage to India is a salute to the idea of the evolutionary progress of the

human race; it celebrates the scientific achievements of the age, looks
forward to the imminent dawning of an era in which all divisions and
separations between people, and people and nature, will be eliminated, and
heralds the spiritual voyage of every human soul into the depths of the inner
universe. Whitman himself described the meaning of his poem, saying that
the divine efforts of heroes, and their ideas . . . will finally prevail, and be
accomplished, however long deferred.

The poem begins by celebrating three achievements of contemporary

technology: the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the laying of the trans-
Atlantic cable, and the growth of the American transcontinental railroad.
These achievements outshine the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World;
however, the poet still hears the call of the ancient past, embodied in the
myths and fables of Asia, with their daring reach toward an unfathomable
spiritual truth. The refrain Passage to India therefore suggests the theme of
inner as well as outer exploration.

Section 3 elaborates on two of the new wonders, picturing the opening

ceremony of the Suez Canal and the grand landscapes through which the
American railroad passes. The poet has been careful to establish that the
great works of the present should be celebrated not merely for the human
skill and knowledge to which they testify but also because they mark an
important stage in the fulfillment of the divine plan: the human race coming
together in unity. The section ends by flashing back to the past and invoking
the name of Christopher...