Analysis-Song-of-Myself

AnalysisSongofMyselfAbstract:SongofMyselfisapoembyWaltWhitmanthatisincludedinhisworkLeavesofGrass.IthasbeencreditedasrepresentingthecoreofWhitman’spoeticvision.ItwastheconcentrationofLeavesofGrass,confirmingitsepicaspectandWhitman’suniqueperspective.Fundamentally,SongofMyselfisasongoffreedom,democracy,equalityandlove.Itshowspoet’sphilosophicalandreligiousthinkingoflifeandcosmicinventory.AlsothereismarkedtranscendentalisminSongofMyself.Itincarnatestheprocessofmysteriousexperienceoftranscendentalist.Keyword:SongofMyselftranscendentalismIntheearlyhalfofnineteenthcentury,America’seconomydevelopedrapidly.However,asaindependentcountry,America’sculture,especiallyliteraturewasstillundertheshadowofBritainliteratureanddidnotestablishitsowndemocraticliterature.Meanwhile,Transcendentalistsadvocatedindividuality.Withthishistoricaldemand,Whitmandesiredtoexpressthespecialage,Thepoemwasfirstpublishedwithoutsectionsasthefirstoftwelveuntitledpoemsinthefirst(1855)editionofLeavesofGrass.ThefirsteditionwaspublishedbyWhitmanathisownexpense.Inthesecond(1856)edition,WhitmanusedthetitlePoemofWaltWhitman,anAmerican,whichwasshortenedtoWaltWhitmanforthethird(1860)edition.Thepoemwasdividedintofifty-twonumberedsectionsforthefourth(1867)editionandfinallytookonthetitleSongofMyselfinthelastedition(1881).ThepoemiswritteninWhitman’ssignaturefreeversestyle.Whitman,whopraiseswordsassimpleasgrassforgoesstandardverseandstanzapatternsinfavorofasimple,legiblestylethatcanappealtoamassaudience.CriticshavenotedastrongTranscendentalistinfluenceonthepoem.Insection32,forinstance,Whitmanexpressesadesiretoliveamongsttheanimalsandtofinddivinityintheinsects.Inadditiontothisromanticism,thepoemseemstoanticipateakindofrealismthatwouldonlybecomeimportantinUnitedStatesliteratureaftertheAmericanCivilWar.Inthepoem,Whitmanemphasizesanall-powerfulIwhichservesasnarrator,whoshouldnotbelimitedtoorconfusedwiththepersonofthehistoricalWaltWhitman.Thepersonadescribedhastranscendedtheconventionalboundariesofself:Ipassdeathwiththedying,andbirthwiththenew-washedbabe....andamnotcontainedbetweenmyhatandboots.ThereareseveralotherquotesfromthepoemthatmakesitapparentthatWhitmandoesnotconsiderthenarratortorepresentasingleindividual.Rather,heseemstobenarratingforall:Foreveryatombelongingtomeasgoodbelongstoyou.InallpeopleIseemyself,nonemoreandnotoneabarleycornless/andthegoodorbadIsayofmyselfIsayofthemLiterarycriticsAliceL.CookandJohnB.Masongiveinterpretationsastothemeaningoftheselfaswellasitsimportanceinthepoem.Cookwritesthatthekeytounderstandingthepoemliesintheconceptofself(typifiedbyWhitman)asbothindividualanduniversal,whileMasondiscussesthereader’sinvolvementinthepoet’smovementfromthesingulartothecosmic.Theselfservesasanideal,yet,incontrasttotraditionalepicpoetry,thisidentityisoneofthecommonpeopleratherthanahero.Asthepointofviewinthepoem,’I’or’Myself’hasthree-levelsignificance:initsmostlimitedsignificanceisWhitmanhimself;ifinitslargestandmostfrequentsense,itisgenericandrepresentativeofallmen;ifinitsuniversalmeaning,it,as‘Whitman’ssoul’,isonlyafragmentof‘theworldsoul’ortheoversoul,asEmersoncalledismysticallyandpantheisticallyrelatedtoallothersouls.”WhileSongofMyselfiscrammedwithsignificantdetail,therearethreekeyepisodesthatmustbeexamined.Thefirstoftheseisfoundinthesixthsectionofthepoem.Achildasksthenarrator“Whatisthegrass?”andthenarratorisforcedtoexplorehisownuseofsymbolismandhisinabilitytobreakthingsdowntoessentialprinciples.Thebunchesofgrassinthechild’shandsbecomeasymboloftheregenerationinnature.ButtheyalsosignifyacommonmaterialthatlinksdisparatepeopleallovertheUnitedStatestogether:grass,theultimatesymbolofdemocracy,growseverywhere.InthewakeoftheCivilWarthegrassremindsWhitmanofgraves:grassfeedsonthebodiesofthedead.Everyonemustdieeventually,andsothenaturalrootsofdemocracyarethereforeinmortality,whetherduetonaturalcausesortothebloodshedofinternecinewarfare.WhileWhitmannormallyrevelsinthiskindofsymbolicindeterminacy,hereittroubleshimabit.“IwishIcouldtranslatethehints,”hesays,suggestingthattheboundarybetweenencompassingeverythingandsayingnothingiseasilycrossed.TherearemanypopulartopicsusedfrequentlybyWhitman.Love,religion,andwararesomefavorites.Twoothersuchtopicswetypicallyreadaboutarenatureanddeath.Thetwocanbediscussedseparatelyortheycanberelatedtoeachother.WaltWhitman,aloverofnature,tackledthesesubjectsinSongofMyselffromLeavesofGrass.SongofMyselfisacelebrationoflifeandGod.Whitmanlovedeverythingimaginableaboutnature.Helovedpeople,animals,andhimself.Throughoutthisextensivepoem,Whitmanmentionsredpeople(Indians),Negroes,butchers,women,thepoorandtherich.Hebelievedthatallaregoodinsomewayoranotherandallpeopleareequal.He’sSongofMyselfis,onthemostbasicdescriptivelevel,areallylongpoem.Whitmanisclearlyapoetwithalottosay,oratleastwithalotofdifferentwaystosayit.Hemeandersfromthemicrotothemacro,fromatomstothewholeearth.“IamapoetofBodyandIamapoetofSoul”,heisalsoisapoetofhimselfandapoetofAmerica.HerootshimselfamongAmericanmenasarepresentativeofthem,since“everyatombelongingtomeasgoodbelongstome”and