This sonnet was one of the twenty new ballads in the 1856 release of Leaves of Grass. Like "Intersection Brooklyn Ferry," which showed up in the meantime, it commands a fellowship and a majority rules system in light of place. Here Whitman sets up the out-of-entryways as an idealistic, majority rule space, in which all men can meet up.
In this poem, Whitman praises the out-of-entryways, and the street specifically, as space where men can meet up seriously, where status and social markers matter less. A street is something everybody utilizes, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, and it compels all levels of individuals to connect with each other. The street, besides, connotes versatility: one can take the street to someplace new, and in America that implies some place one can begin once again. For Whitman, as well, the street is a space for the social occasion the material for verse. As he goes along it, he sees an assortment of individuals and puts and hears a plenty of stories. He contends against remaining in one place for a really long time, in spite of the fact that the cordiality might be a bit, for just the trial of the open street will do.
