Journal from Whitman (pt.2)
English 48B
March 9, 2011
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (30).
“These sections deal with the themes of God, life death, and nature. Their primary aim is to reveal the nature of the poet’s journey through life and the spiritual knowledge which he strives for along the way. They reveal an essential element in a mystical experience- the awakening of the poet’s self. “Song of Myself” is a poetical expression of that mystical experience.” (Description of “Song of Myself” from Stan.tk study guide).
Whitman’s “Song of Myself” is an autobiographical poem written for Whitman himself, but also for all of mankind. It addresses several topics that span from love, death, and nature. Whitman illustrates several different stories in his poem that can be interpreted in many different ways.
This poem is much like “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” in the sense that it strives to emphasize the overall theme of everlasting time amongst generations passed and present. There are several literary tools Whitman uses to emphasize his point. One in particular is his use of repetition in his stanzas. For example, several lines in section number two (pg. 31) start off with “Have you” (ln 29, pg. 31) or “you shall” (ln. 32). Whitman’s repetition of questions and statements give the reader a sense of importance in his words. By seeing the same words repeated over and over, I was automatically drawn to that section of the poem. Whitman also uses alliteration to emphasize certain phrases like “I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of beginning and the end, but I do not talk of the beginning or the end” (pg. 31). The repetition of sound within the following sentence is pleasant to the ear, and therefor becomes pleasant to the reader. One section of the poem that really stood out to me was on pages 33-34 when Whitman uses the symbol of grass. “A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands: How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he” (33). Whitman then lists the limitless possibilities of what the grass could really be. He says “Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord” (34) and “Or the grass istelf a child, the produced babe of the vegetation”. His ability to create so much meaning behind a simple piece of nature is very appealing. Once again, Whitman uses nature to also bring together all of mankind. He emphasizes that grass is constantly re-birthing, much like mankind.
