Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

In the midst of an era characterized by strict adherence to religious and societal expectations, a vibrant wave of liberated thought and conscious non-conformism manages to emerge. This counter-culture approach to answering life’s basic questions becomes what is known as the philosophy of transcendentalism. Addressing the primary focus of transcendentalism - the search for self-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 “Song of Myself”, and is developed further in his poem “Kosmos”. Moreover, Whitman pioneers the future of modern poetry while incorporating his perspective of what it means to be human.

In section 2 of Song of Myself, the first sense Whitman utilises to create the setting is the reader’s sense of smell. “Houses and rooms are full of perfumes,… I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it, … The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it." By beginning with the imagery of perfumes and fragrances, Whitman is able to bring readers past memories to the situation. The stanza brings forward the

Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’ helps inspire my body and soul, activates my mind, and encourages individual discovery for the sake of creating a better world for all to live in. It also acts as a form of instruction for becoming an American in ideal and in action. Through his free-form verse and tone that reflects more of a wizened and rosy cheeked grandfather than controversial poet, Whitman’s writing acts as a refreshing breath to all, including myself, that are searching for an empathetic peace of mind. “I celebrate myself, and sing myself,/ And what I assume you shall assume,/ For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you./”, Whitman begins, inviting the reader to a conversation by the fireside, as we are equal in spirit, matter, and creation, which should obviously be celebrated and shared.

The primary focus for Song of Myself, contrary to popular belief, is not so much as solidified through some self-absorbed, or narcissistic ideal. Whitman’s focus is actually established within the dual-consciousness of man as the center of his own universe, sure, but strictly from the perspectives to come by legitimately broader outreach, from what’s seen extending beyond ourselves. Therefore, if we end up central to everything else, it’s by his deliberate move of framing us as some kind of arbitrator of things on alternating ends of a spectrum, or an opposing side of a coin, that our horizons are loosened to dichotomies, or wholesale contradictions formerly unrecognized. The ability to see things as more than they appear, though grounded

The impactful opening line “I celebrate myself” (Whitman 1) is followed by the repetition of “assumes”. It utilization brings the attention back to the question of what “I” is representing. According to the Oxford English Dictionary assumes is “to take into the body.” Walt Whitman chose to expedite

In “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman, I, referring to Whitman’s individualism, celebrate myself, and sing to myself. I sit down and relax in a field of summer grass. I observe all my surroundings, and understand every atom in my body was formed from this world, and every atom that is mine is also yours. Furthermore, the summer grass grows the same everywhere regardless of the area or people living there.

During this movement, the history of the nation was changing. There was slavery and many different cultures from different individuals in the nation. By looking at Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” poem, the reader can better understand why he came to have his point of views while discovering who he was during this era based off the changing culture in the nation, the religious views towards nature, and the social views on equality among people.

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

The poem ‘Song of Myself’ is written by Walt Whitman and speaks upon Whitman’s way of life and his perspective about various situations that take place on a daily basis. In the start of the poem Whitman calls himself to celebrate all that his before him. He states various things that he disagrees within society, such as people who are self-righteous, anyone who felts shame on their physical appearance and people who believe they address the truth but actually doesn’t. On the other hand, he supports the idea that death should not bring pain but rather it is the end of every living creature, so we should just accept it. Whitman also supports many other things such as the idea that everyone is equal even slaves, the truth will always exist, and that people should take pride in themselves. Whitman also emphasizes on the idea that he will enjoy everyday to the fullest, so when he dies he shall have no regrets. As the poem came to an end, Whitman explains how he will accept death when it occurs and shall wait for the rest of humanity in the afterlife; as he quoted in the poem, “I stop somewhere waiting for you”. The poem is based on Whitman concept of the three personas he poses as a person and how they affect his life. The author has divided Whitman’s personality into three parts, which all play a significant role in the poem in Whitman’s life. Even Though, Whitman has painted himself a unique personality unlike others, he has based it upon three parts which are; the soul, me myself, and I.

In the opening line of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” it becomes immediately evident that his song is not about himself, but about the entire human race: “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 considered worthy of poetic material. The meaning of his poem is best expressed in a quote from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) wrote a poem titles “A Song of Myself.” He wrote this piece in order to celebrate his identity, what makes him unique. Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) writes of a little boy struggling with identity in a quickly changing world. Jamaica Kincaid (1949-), writes of a young girl who is learning her identity as a mother, wife and daughter. By examining each piece of literature, one can trace the common theme of identity by comparing and contrasting the history of each piece, as well as the time period and the meaning of each story. It is also important to understand how self-identity is related to the message each author is giving.

“Song of myself” is one of Walt Whitman’s excellent poetry of the Leaves of Grass. Referring to the word “myself” from title, it is presumable that the poem is talking about Whitman himself. Moreover, in this poem, he uses several times the word “you”. To some extents, “you” can be referred to his beloved readers. This poem is like a conversation between the speaker and the readers. He tells the readers about his passion to the world and asks us to find him. In addition, to other degrees, “you” also can be regarded as American people. In the poem, he addresses his passion to his nation, to American people. He wants them to read his poem and it will bring them benefits. Overall, this is a poem to praise Whitman himself, to set free his human passion and to address his beloved readers.

Song of Myself by Walt Whitman. In this poem, the speaker Walt Whitman talks about his connection to nature and how everything is connected to nature. He speaks as if what he says is a new or unheard language. Mr. Whitman believe that he is not tamed from himself and that he has transcended the notion. By that he means he have created a new language that is foreign to others since they have never heard of it. Around this time many poets were becoming more expressive and open. Walt Whitman motivated many artists that would have been considered “weird” during the time to become more open.

Although Whitman uses the seemingly singular pronoun “I” in his poems, he is not using the pronoun to signify only himself but also the rest of humanity as a unified entity. Whitman opens his poem with the words “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (1-3). The first line, its meaning initially seeming rather cryptic, becomes more discernable once the universal “I” is employed. It then becomes evident that Whitman is intending his poem to be a celebration of humankind. Interestingly enough, the usage of “sing” in such context almost brings the reader back again to the classics, reminiscent of the epics of old. While all definitions of assume apply for the

Literary writing has changed from telling stories, to entertaining, and informing other but now it has changed were writers are putting their voice out and making argument. Writers like Walt Whitman, Benjamin Franklin, and Anne Bradstreet were able to express their proposal so that it would reach many individual who feels the same way. It would help those who are in the same position understand their point of view. Their purpose was not to change literary but to show how it can combine it all together and how it can changed others point of view on individualism, civil right, and gender.