Walt Whitman - Song of Myself - 822 Words

Walt Whitman has neither related his biography nor glorified himself in the poem as the title suggests. Infact, the apparent indication of the title is here of no importance. The poem is the song of celebration of every object of nature in general where a question put to the poet by a little child triggers off a philosophical trend of thought relating to death and the meaning of death. In the poem, he has celebrated his own idea (that nothing collapses due to death but instead life moves on) and imaginary power while showcasing his optimistic views on life A little child questions the poet, What is grass? that sets his mind wondering when he has nor ready answer for the childs question and is unable to answer it. He muses that perhaps†¦show more content†¦It may be from old people or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers laps. This brings out the fact that everyone must die eventually, whether due to natural causes or to the bloodshed of warfare. He then contrasts t he colour of the grass to the hair of old women when he says This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers thus implying that the graves below are that of young people, people who have died before their time. He continues to talk about the grasss colour claiming it to be darker than the colourless beards of old men. He perceives that the grass is coming from the faint red roofs of mouths of the dead below and that the dead below are trying to tell him something after all, so many uttering tonguesÂ…. Do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing. Indicating that the uttering tongues is the grass and they must be carrying some meaning with them when the sprout over the graves. The poet wishes that he could translate the hints about dead young men and women as well as the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken soon out of their laps all which is in the form of grass. He wants to decipher the secrets it holds and know more about the lives of t hese men and women over whose graves the grass now grows. He is perplexed and throws out the question What do you think has become of the young and old men? And what do you think has become of the women andShow MoreRelatedWalt Whitman Song of Myself1260 Words   |  6 PagesJanuary 20th, 2012 It’s Only Natural: Racial and Gender Equality in Walt Whitman’s â€Å"Song of Myself† In the opening line of Walt Whitman’s â€Å"Song of Myself,† it becomes immediately evident that his song is not about himself, but about the entire human race: â€Å"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, / for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you†. His poem extols the mundane aspects of everyday life that a traditional poet of his day would not have consideredRead MoreSong Of Myself By Walt Whitman1795 Words   |  8 Pageschemical also released during sex and eating. In his gutsy poem to America, Song of Myself, Walt Whitman uses repetition to make music that will bring pleasure to his readers and also shape how they perceive the world. Whitman begins his poem by boldly stating that he celebrates himself. Like the chorus to a song he repeats the word â€Å"I† throughout the entirety of the poem. The meaning of the word transitions from â€Å"I† being Whitman himself, to the people reading his book , and then ending with the readerRead MoreSong of Myself by Walt Whitman2251 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"I celebrate myself, and sing myself / and what I shall assume you shall assume† (Whitman 1-2). These lines not only open up the beginning of one the best poems of the American Romantic period, but they also represent a prominent theme of one of this period’s best poet, Walt Whitman. In Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, Whitman deals with his time period’s most prominent theme of democracy. Whitman tells readers that they must not only observe the democratic life but they must become one with it. AsRead MoreThe Song Of Myself By Walt Whitman And Howl1353 Words   |  6 PagesBoth â€Å"Song of Myself† by Walt Whitman and â€Å"Howl† by Allen Ginsberg are important pieces of American poetry. â€Å"Song of Myself† was written in the 1850’s and â€Å"Howl† was written about a century later. Both poets were part of groups th at wanted to change America – the Transcendentalists and the Beats. Transcendentalists believed in the goodness of people and nature. They believe that people are at their best when they are truly independent. The Beats rejected standard values and materialism. They experimentedRead MoreAnalysis Of Song Of Myself By Walt Whitman1451 Words   |  6 Pagesself-wisdom, discovery and betterment – is the ground-breaking poet, Walt Whitman. In his poetry, Whitman explores the surreal and cosmic, relating the supernatural to the mundane .With an emphasis on oneness with nature, Whitman’s celebratory attitude of the human soul in all of its complexity, beauty, and contradictions is most noted in his extensive poem titled â€Å"Song of Myself†, and is developed further in his poem â€Å"Kosmos†. Moreover, Whitman pioneers the future of modern poetry while incorporating hisRead MoreSong of Myself by Walt Whitman903 Words   |  4 Pagesultimate threat to the United States at the time, Whitman wished to mend Americas social and political demands through his poetry. Throughout Whitman’s works, the reader can evidently observe the widths and basis of his social and political philosophy and the layers of various circumstances that exist within his American culture – which is an essential part of his democratic vision. Many of Whitmans poems, including major works such as Song of Myself, can be studied with this tidbit, but yet theseRead MoreWalt Whitman s Song Of Myself1191 Words   |  5 Pages Walt Whitman’s â€Å"Song of Myself† Walt Whitman was an American poet born in May 31, 1819 in New York, and he died in March 26, 1892 in New Jersey. He grew up going to school in separate facilities from people of color, so he was growing up along with the nation. He was self-taught by exploring things for himself, for example, going to the museums when he could. Whitman as a young boy alternated from being in the city to being in the countryside with his grandparents. He was exposed to be beingRead MoreSong of Myself by Walt Whitman Essay1343 Words   |  6 PagesIn his first anthology of poems entitled â€Å"Song of Myself†, Walt Whitman reveals some of his views on democracy through the use of symbolism and free verse poetry. His use of symbolism and free verse poetry creates indeterminacy, giving the reader hints rather than answers about the nature of the poem. In the sixth part of â€Å"Song of Myself†, a child asks the narrator of the poem, â€Å"What is the grass?† (Whitman). Instead of simply giving an answer, the narrator cannot make up his mind, and stumblesRead MoreAnalysis Of Walt Whitman s Song Of Myself1178 Words   |  5 Pagesa Poem Using the Same Ideas from Another Person The idea that the artist is a single individual coming to stand and speak for the masses is one of Emerson’s main transcendentalist ideas. Walt Whitman met Emerson’s ideal artist description as he spoke as one man for the multitude in his poem, â€Å"Song of Myself†, which openly demonstrates Whitman’s faith in the imperative indivisibility of self-reliance. He shares many of the same ideas as Emerson, such as the importance of the self and views on religionRead MoreAnalysis Of Walt Whitman s Song Of Myself Essay2414 Words   |  10 Pages The prevalence of Hegelianism in Walt Whitman’s â€Å"Song of Myself† is indisputable, yet a consensus on the meaning remains elusive, and therefore, insidious to the democratic progress Whitman attempts. Whitman uses Hegel to support his ideas about the dialectical theory of consciousness, the spiritualization and importance of art, and America’s manifest destiny. I later elucidate on these catego ries and break them down into more precise ideas. I use a variety of scholars for evidence of structural