Analysis Of Walt Whitman's I Celebrate Myself, And Sing Myself

1179 Words3 Pages

Society shapes human beings into what they think is perfection. People in today’s society follow the world’s rituals as they continue to conform to fit in to the latest trends. Today, implants, plastic surgery, and weight loss treatments are the reason people have money set aside in their savings accounts. The pressure of others claims to be the main reason people change their hair, skin, and size, and often forget about their own special characteristics. There is a reason Walt Whitman, writes “I Celebrate Myself, and Sing Myself,” to show the importance of loving yourself and cherishing your own personal qualities as a human being. He speaks of himself, hoping to grab his readers’ attention. Throughout the poem, “I Celebrate Myself, and Sing …show more content…

He writes about theses characteristic traits to show his audience that everyone has their own characteristic traits, and these traits make them special. Whitman begins by writing, “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” (Whitman line 8). According to Gerald Thomas, an atom is the basic unit of life, and every human is made up of them. Whitman’s reference to atoms in his writing acknowledges the fact that everyone is made up of differently, which means not even identical twins are exactly alike. Whitman also touches bases on his blood and his body parts. In line 6, he says, “My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air.” He refers to his tongue and blood as being formed from particles of the earth, such as soil, and air, and Researcher, Thomas Gerald, says that humans are made partly from the earth. As Whitman continues to include scientific knowledge in his writing, he shows his readers his sophistication. Throughout his writing, he emphasizes that he has various qualities and incorporates term such as, DNA, as a way to express his feelings toward

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Whitman And I Hear America Singing

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "I, Too," Langston Hughes is obviously in conversation with the earlier poem, Walt Whitman 's "I Hear America Singing." Both poems explore the idea of American identity -- who and what is an American? What characterizes the people of this nation? The two poets, however, reach somewhat different conclusions in response to these questions.

    Read More

  • The Hero In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

    468 Words  | 1 Pages

    Stanza 33 of “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman is a beautiful poem. In the poem, Whitman describes a multitude of examples of people he considers heroes.

    Read More

  • Song of Myself by Walt Whitmas

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whitman, Walt. Song of Myself. Dover Thrift ed. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2001. Print.

    Read More

  • Defending Walt Whitman Analysis

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poetry is a universe of subjectivity. When two poems are set up, side-by-side, to create discussion, results may vary. But it is clear in Sherman Alexie’s two poems, “Defending Walt Whitman” and “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel”, where the discussion must go. Alexie explores Native American culture and the effect that the Europeans have had on the native people of the United States. This feat is accomplished through the thoughtful use of several literary devices, including tone, simile, allusion, and metaphor.

    Read More

  • The Value Of Conformity In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the span of this semester, much of the literature discussed revolved around the so-called renaissance of American literature and its impact upon both the nation and its people. Of all the authors studied in this time period, Walt Whitman may well be known as the quintessential American author. Famous for breaking every rule known to poetry in the inimitable compilation, Song of Myself, Whitman provided a fresh and insightful commentary upon the dualistic nature of society, love, and life itself. Through defining these essential aspects of humanity, Whitman indeed composed one of the most accurate and enduring definitions of the individual self that literature, American or otherwise, has ever seen. Specifically, this was done through

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Whitman’s Song of Myself with Ginsberg’s Howl

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    American poetry, unlike other nations’ poetry, is still in the nascent stage because of the absence of a history in comparison to other nations’ poetry humming with matured voices. Nevertheless, in the past century, American poetry has received the recognition it deserves from the creative poetic compositions of Walt Whitman, who has been called “the father of American poetry.” His dynamic style and uncommon content is well exhibited in his famous poem “Song of Myself,” giving a direction to the American writers of posterity. In addition, his distinct use of the line and breath has had a huge impression on the compositions of a number of poets, especially on the works of the present-day poet Allen Ginsberg, whose debatable poem “Howl” reverberates with the traits of Whitman’s poetry. Nevertheless, while the form and content of “Howl” may have been impressed by “Song of Myself,” Ginsberg’s poem expresses a change from Whitman’s use of the line, his first-person recital, and his vision of America. As Whitman’s seamless lines are open-ended, speaking the voice of a universal speaker presenting a positive outlook of America, Ginsberg’s poem, on the contrary, uses long lines that end inward to present the uneasiness and madness that feature the vision of America that Ginsberg exhibits through the voice of a prophetic speaker.

    Read More

  • Philosophic Thought in Whitman's Song of Myself

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Heath Anthology of American Literature repeatedly refers to Walt Whitman and his poetry in terms of being American, yet as I read Song of Myself, my thoughts are continually drawn to the philosophies and religions of the Far East. Like the Tao Te Ching ideas are expressed in enigmatic verse and each stanza is a Zen koan waiting to be meditated on and puzzled out. Even Emerson called Whitman's poetry "a remarkable mixture of the Bhagvat Gita and the New York Herald" ("The Whitman Project"). Song of Myself contains multitudes of passages that express Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist thought.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Prodigal By Bob Hicok

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Individuals often have a strong desire to pursue their aspirations and desires due to their ambitious, determined innate nature. However, through these numerous achievements they have successfully fulfilled, other people’s perception of the individual will vastly differ depending on their relationship with him/her. In the poem “Prodigal”, Bob Hicok suggests that when individuals have successfully accomplished their ambitions, others will perceive the individual’s changed identity in vastly different ways depending on their relationship with the individual. An individual’s ambitious nature will also significantly impact themselves due to their ever-changing perception of themselves, which will greatly affect their own perceptions and decisions

    Read More

  • The Cycle of Life in Walt Whitman's Song of Myself

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 poem.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Sing the Body Electric

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I Sing the Body Electric” is one of twelve poems that comprised the 1855 first edition of Walt Whitman’s self-published masterpiece, Leaves of Grass. Like other poems, especially “Song of Myself,” it is a celebration of life. It is hard to believe this classic was written during the Civil War era. A time historically riddled with slavery and injustice, of mass death and discord, as well as the expansion of industrialization, the movement out west and population growth. This 19th century classic defines an age-old problem. In brief, the human body is too often disrespected, abused, underappreciated, or taken for granted. According to Whitman, "If anything is sacred the human body is sacred," (Routledge, section 8), and “if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?” (Routledge, section 1). An analysis of “I Sing the Body Electric” assists us in recognizing our eternal state of existence and well-being; a state only conceived through a unified consciousness of the human body and soul. In it Whitman poetically expresses his appreciation and respect for the intricate, spiritual unification between the human body and the soul.

    Read More

  • Individuality in Whitman's Song of Myself

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    *Whitman, Walt. Song of Myself. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Ed, Paul Lauter. Boston,NewYork: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Self In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Walt Whitman used free verse in “Song of Myself” in order to connect with the common man and his American readers. In this first person narrative, Whitman deconstructs the “self” into many different sections that all are a part of the celebration of the individual. Some of the topics he breaks the “self” into are self- identity, and human exploration (including the human body and sexuality). In the poem, Whitman uses a speaker to exclaim that for individuals to grow they must discover themselves spiritually, physically, and mentally. The speaker in the poem

    Read More

  • Individuality And Democracy In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    As aforementioned, this paradoxical concept of individuality coexisting with unity and equality is evident in “Song of Myself” (Chase 132). Whitman believed the theme of unity is a common link embracing all humanity. Whitman also felt that “one of the founding beliefs of American democracy is the fundamental equality of all people” (Casale 49). In “Song of Myself,” the people are portrayed as a collection of distinct individuals with their own soul and qualities.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices used in Walt Whitman´s Poem Song of Myself

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    Explication Through a multitude of literary devices and techniques, Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself," is one of his most famous contributions to American literature. He uses simile and metaphor, paradox, rhythm, and free verse style, to convey his struggle between the relation of the body and soul, the physical and the spiritual being. He continues to disobey all social restrictions of the romantic time period. From the beginning, Whitman begins by stating, "What I shall assume, you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you," proposing that the reader listen to him, for he possesses all of the answers to life. The setting is somewhat naturalistic, and offers an image of the speaker, relaxing, possibly sprawled out across a blanket, philosophizing about life, while in the middle of a peaceful meadow. As the poem later shifts in tone, and setting, Whitman starts to think about the answers to life he has come up with, based upon the past, and decides that the reader should hear him out, one final time, as his ideas have changed. This brings us to #44 of "Song of Myself." In section #44 of, "Song of Myself," Whitman's first stanza begins: "It's time to explain myself…let us stand up. What is known I strip away…I launch all men and women forward with me into the unknown. The clock indicates the moment…but what does eternity indicate? Eternity lies in bottomless reservoirs…its buckets are rising forever and ever, they pour and they pour and they exhale away." Whitman is simply stating that he wants to tell the purpose of his madness. The madness that Whitman expresses is that of power and self-confidence. Whitman has written this based upon his experiences in life. Through these experiences, he has grown to know certain things about life and tries to pass them down to the reader. Throughout the beginning of the poem, Whitman takes the reader by the hand and demands that he follows Whitman and his ideas, because based on his own life Whitman holds the answers to the reader's questions. But now, he asks the reader to erase everything that he has previously said - forget the past. Why don't we try something new? We have to focus on the present, not on the past, but also to focus on what we are going to experience in the future, what can we expect?

    Read More

  • Walt Whitman: The American Poet

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    As Whitman, the specific individual, melts away into the abstract, “Song of Myself” explores the possibilities for communion between individuals. Whitman addresses the reader in a particularly direct manner. He integrates his reader into the poem, and is freed of the constraints of poetic principle and social etiquette. The poem presents entire body lounging on the ground, leaning and idling. Whitman deliberately conflates natural world and poetical world. “Song of Myself” goes beyond the boundaries of Transcendentalism in the relationship of the physical and spiritual, individual and universal. The self that Whitman cheerily sings and celebrates substantiates a ‘uniform hieroglyphic’: suggestive, multiform, and awash with inconsistency. “It is as much a physical presence as a projected spiritual possibility” (Jason 2). Even as it blatantly and fervently expresses Whitman’s faith in evolution (and therefore in the necessary indivisibility of self-reliance), “Song of Myself” also conveys a separation with the “self,” the poet himself, and the co...

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Walt Whitman's I Celebrate Myself, And Sing Myself

Open Document