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This poem, dedicated to the democratic ideal – a physical-spiritual union of all people – was written by Walt Whitman in 1855. Whitman focuses his attention to human nature itself, which can only live via comradely, or manly company. As Zapata-Whelan emphasises, Calamus "transcends all convention (...) as it incites an enthusiastic outburst of solidarity and love" (Zapata-Whelan, 1998). (Zapata-Whelan, 1998). On the one hand, the [poet](https://styleyourname.com) addresses the pure democracy that they are a part of and how it needs physical strength in order to endure. On the other, Calamus and Leaves of Grass (1860) examine the conceivable vast society of manly love, thus generating a nuanced understanding of love for men and democracy as a whole. The comradely love prospering democracy, indirectly, reminds Plato's valuation of male friendships: in which while pleasure belongs to the world of mimetic or non-universals, male friendship is regarded above anything else i.e. 'platonic love' (Britannica T. Editors, 2022). (Britannica T. Editors, 2022). Unlike Plato, Whitman in For You Democracy (1860) do not exclude sexuality nor pleasure from the equation of manly love, but rather leaves the door open for additional interpretation. In keeping with Tully's (2016) argument of 'Calamus' prefiguring "some of the vocabulary of "coming out of the closet," Whitman discusses expressed love in this poem as a vital aspect of any democratic society. Without love and compassion, democracy would be nothing more than a masquerade. Overall, Calamus exhibits male-to-male love's changing impact on American Society and democracy while not clearly classifying the type of love that's relevant.
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