Lover

The lover represents the interpersonal intimacy that Whitman believes is crucial to finding miracles in everyday life. For Whitman, both the emotional (“talk by day with any one I love”) and physical (“sleep in the bed at night with any one I love”) intimacy he experiences with his beloved are included in the abundant miracles of the world (7). Note how Whitman does not shy away from the implied sexual and sensual pleasure he enjoys with the one he loves, which is implied by the image of sharing a bed together. As such, though Whitman emphasizes personal experience throughout “Miracles,” the lover symbolizes a miraculous selfhood formed in connection to others.

Animals

The animals represent Whitman’s solidarity with the sublimity of the natural world. For Whitman, his sense of connectivity with the world is not just limited to the sights of “Manhattan” or the people he...