The poet is said to be one who can perceive the beauty of the world around them although it is argued that "men and women perceive beauty... just as him" (1318). In other words, the poet's great vision is not exclusive to their calling, but rather is a characteristic also found in the people of the United States, creating an environment in which the vision through which both parties see the world is synonymous. Generalizing this equality and defining the poet as “commensurate to a people” further emphasizes the poet's status as a symbol of the American (1316). Along with the argument that the poet is unsurpassed in greatness by any other individual, this pushes forward the idea that the people of the United States are the best pin in the world. Consequently, the poet seen as the average American creates a basis by which the rest of the world is placed below the United States in the hierarchy of being. Whitman constructs a characterization of the American citizen that all people should regard as synonymous with the “greatest poet,” and the result is that in the order of the universe they come first