January 20th, 2012 It’s Only Natural: Racial and Gender Equality in Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” 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
ultimate threat to the United States at the time, Whitman wished to mend America's 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 Whitman's poems, including major works such as "Song of Myself," can be studied with this tidbit, but yet these
“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. As
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
touch with his animal side, and in doing so, sometimes one will no longer be satisfied with the trappings of civilization; pollution of the mind, soul, and earth, media, social norms, philosophers with agendas, and an incredible amount of rules. Walt Whitman must have spent many hours sitting on rocks. An imagist,
focuses on literature, he does not ignore the context to which the three poets respond. He briefly refers to some of the key issues of the nineteenth century to explain the modernity of each poet. Song of Myself is juxtaposed with Longfellow’s “The Village Blacksmith” to describe the unique qualities of Whitman distinguishing him from his contemporaries. The changes in the different editions of “Leaves of Grass” are also studied. The author believes the use of poetry as a vehicle of thought leads to the
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
Both “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman and “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg are important pieces of American poetry. “Song of Myself” was written in the 1850’s and “Howl” was written about a century later. Both poets were part of groups that 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 experimented
formal pedagogies in favor of informal ones…” (Cain). Walt Whitman was no different; he prefered a hands on approach when it came to teaching and through his approach, he learned as much from the student as they did from him. Walt Whitman had several ideas and themes that came from his pedagogy as recorded in Song of Myself 6, 46, and 47. In Song of myself 6, Walt Whitman begins to question exactly how much an instructor can teach. Walt Whitman was known for his hands on approach when it came to learning
Walt Whitman’s poems, the first person narrative emphasizes that the emotions expressed in his writing are unique to him. In his poem Song of Myself, he describes a scene in nature involving a wild goose call. He reflects “The pert may suppose it meaningless, but I listening close,/ Find its purpose and place up there toward the wintry sky…. I see in them myself and the same old law” (6). The use of the first person shows how Whitman’s interpretations of the events he depicts do not apply to all