Walt Whitman’s “I celebrate myself, and sing myself” and Edward Estlin Cummings’s “next to of course god america I” focus on war and loyalty. It states that democracy needs to consist of entities equally, or it will fail. According to an online article, “"Song of Myself" might be the most egotistical poem ever written: it's all about me, myself, and I. In the first line, American poet Walt Whitman kindly informs us that he is going to celebrate himself, and throughout 52 glorious sections, he does just that. It takes guts to write a long epic poem about yourself, and Whitman was nothing if not gutsy” (Shmoop). Edward Estlin Cummings eliminates himself from the poem by consuming a speaker within a speaker. Both speakers think practically of themselves. The lesson in these poems doesn’t have a main definition however they both have their own way of living life. Each poem expressed a sense of personal Optimism. To begin with, loyalty and war “next to of course god America I” the poem begins with the speaker being somebody that is a patriot and has a strong feeling about America. According to online research, “next to of course god america i seems to be spoken from the heart of E.E. Cummings himself. He removes himself from the poem by using a speaker within a speaker, but the content of the poem directly corresponds with Cummings’ life experiences. As a volunteer during World War I, Cummings acquired a bitterness for war which he did not scruple to express. He was outspoken
In “Song of Myself” Whitman attempts to speak on behalf of the entire American population. He tries to pull the reader into a world of many possibilities. Whitman makes a
The poem begins with the line “next to of course god america i” that can be seen as a juxtaposition between America and the people. The words “god,” “america,” and “i” are placed in order of decreasing importance, thus implying that patriotism is a natural duty, for America as a whole is more important than any one person. Furthermore, by presenting “god” and “america” in lowercase letters, Cummings allows the reader to infer
"WHITMAN WAS MORE MAN THAN YOU'LL EVER BE," said a student of Louisiana State University. When asked questions of your sexual preference or thoughts on the issue of sex, I would venture to say it makes most people uncomfortable. This is an age-old topic that people know about, yet do not want to talk about. He was particularly reticent about his issues regarding sex and his particular sexual preference. In fact, of Whitman's struggles the most difficult for him to deal with was his ever so strong homosexual desires (Hubbell 283). Whether homosexuality is right or wrong is not for me to decide. Though I feel it should not be used so explicitly in works of
In the Poem from Walt Whitman “Song to Myself” 1855, from his collection, Whitman exhibits that everything in the universe relates through atoms. According to Whitman “My tongue, every atom of my blood form’d from this soil, this air”(ll.6). The poet portrays equality through this quote because the time period he’s living in, racism and equality’s a huge problem. Whitman’s saying everything’s made of the same stuff; which means if we’re made the same, then we should be treated with the same respect. We should be treated equally, no different; this motivates Whitman to complete his goal to terminate inequality. Additionally, the poet continues, “It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers’ laps” (ll.
In stanza six of the poem "Song of Myself", by Walt Whitman, he poses the question "What is the grass?" I believe that grass is a metaphor for the cycle of life. Throughout the poem Whitman points out images that grass could represent. All of these images stem from the life and death that we come to expect in our lifetime. During your life you will experience death, it at times surrounds you, but if you look past the grief and look to the beauty you will see that it is a cycle that keeps our world in balance. The images of flags, tears, children and older people that are torn from the ones they love, but only to soon return to other lost ones are all parts of Walt Whitman's
In one of the sections from the poem, “Song of Myself” Walt Whitman starts out with a child asking a question, “What is the grass?” Grass is a symbol of life. God, who created both the heavens and the earth also gave birth to life. When Whitman refers to grass as a “handkerchief of the Lord” (7), as a gift. When people look at the grass, they do not think of it as a creation but rather just a plant. Whitman refers to the grass as “a child, the produced babe of vegetation” (11, 12). Here, the grass is a metaphor for the birth of a child. In often cases, the birth of anything is celebrated because it symbolizes a new life, a new beginning.
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.
The section I was given from the poem, “Song of Myself,” puts the ‘lit’ in literature. In the poem, Whitman was basically saying that his thoughts were knowledge and he did not feel the need to voice his opinions. Because he felt this way, he wanted to speak out on his thoughts but knew that he would be questioned and felt he did not need any validation. In lines 9-11, Whitman states that his voice “goes after what his eyes cannot reach,” and “with the twirl of his tongue” he encompasses “worlds and volumes of worlds,” meaning that he becomes what he sees through vision, and then reaches beyond those limits with his words. He is always catching his tongue trying to explain himself when he feels he does not need to. This is where transcendentalism
While it is not commonly known, the type of music a person listens to affects the way in which they perceive the world. Music also triggers activity in the brain structures that release dopamine, the pleasure chemical 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 “I” throughout the entirety of the poem. The meaning of the word transitions from “I” being Whitman himself, to the people reading his book, and then ending with the reader realizing that “I” is, and has been, the American ideal. We all make up the American ideal; we are all America and important to what America stands for. Whitman stresses that this one country, seemingly small compared to earth’s vast borders, can ignite the ideas of equality, love, and independence that should be mirrored throughout the world. His words would go on to inspire not only literary artists that followed him but musical artists of the 21st century like Aloe Blacc.
Forged in the fire of revolution and defined by manifest destiny, America has always been the land of the individual. Although the American dream has not always been consistent, (married with 2.5 kids, 2 cars, a dog and a satisfying job), the spirit of innovation, individuality and progress remains unchanged. The father of free verse, and perhaps the American perspective of poetry, Walt Whitman embodies these values in his life and work. First published in 1855 in Leaves of Grass, "Song of Myself" is a vision of a symbolic "I" enraptured by the senses, vicariously embracing all people and places from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Sections 1 and 2, like the entirety of the piece, seek to reconcile the individual and the natural world
During a lecture in 1907, William James said "the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos" (Bartlett 546) Individuality has been a prevalent theme in every type of literature for quite some time. Whether it is a character discovering his/her individuality or the author expressing his, literature is full of distinctness. The term individuality changes meaning with each person it meets. That is what makes the dynamic word so great. Throughout particular works read this
Every sentence in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" tends to either repeat or contradict. He even says of himself, "I contradict myself" (Lauter, p. 2793). This can make Whitman's poetry a little confusing to some. In his many stanzas, definition of the soul is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory.
On this verse, we can see how Whitman tries to connect to mind, body, spirit and nature. In “Song of Myself” Whitman attempted to change the meaning of American poetry. I described identity issues that pertain to him, but that the audience was able to identify with. Whitman, opened the door to
In his first anthology of poems entitled “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 “Song of Myself”, a child asks the narrator of the poem, “What is the grass?” (Whitman). Instead of simply giving an answer, the narrator cannot make up his mind, and stumbles on how to explain the grass to the child. Through the use of specific symbolisms, Whitman, as the narrator, explicates his views while remaining under the façade of explaining grass to the child. The views Whitman conveys remain indeterminate and
In Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, the poet showcases his feelings of people and himself by using literary descriptors to convey his thoughts on these and various other subjects. In section 20, Whitman’s purpose is to showcase self-assuredness regardless of what the world tries to state otherwise by maintaining his resolute happiness in being himself. This is what sets him apart from being like the other people in the world.