The first and last lines of each stanza are short, while the middle two are typically longer.
It still does not have a set rhyme scheme or meter, but it is organized into 26 quatrains (4-line stanzas). "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" is slightly more structured than most of Whitman's other poems. In the final stanza, the trumpet sounds, sending the pioneers on their way. He includes himself in their ranks, saying " I too, with my soul and body/we, a curious trip, picking, wandering on our way." At last, he acknowledges the mothers and daughters of the West as well, and says that they must move among the ranks of pioneers, never divided. He insists that "all the pulses of the world" beat for the pioneers, and goes on to list several different archetypes who support the westward expansion: seamen, landsmen, slave masters, and prisoners.
He likens the pioneers to troops advancing in battle, hoping to inspire patriotism in these men as they set off. Later in the poem, the speaker also acknowledges the danger that the pioneers will face - but he frames it as sacrifice. He calls on them to harness this energy, wave their nation's flag high, and give courage to the masses who will follow them. Throughout the poem, the speaker addresses the pioneers' innate restlessness. The speaker includes himself amongst the pioneers, whom he describes as "Colorado men." They are also coming from Nebraska, Arkansas, and Missouri - Southerners and Northerners coming together and clasping hands like comrades. He describes the path that they will take, "down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep," using illustrative language to characterize the upcoming journey as a great adventure into the unknown. The speaker points out the pioneers' youthful energy and reminds them that the future rests on their shoulders. He commands them to gather their weapons and make haste because the future generations depend on them to pave the way. He begins by calling the pioneers together and urging them to go west. During his life, Whitman celebrated this expansion and everything that resulted from it. " Pioneers! O Pioneers!" is Whitman's ode to the sacrifices of the pioneers who settled the American West.
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