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Analyzing song of myself by walt whitman
Song of myself walt whitman literary devices
Song of myself walt whitman literary devices
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An example is in Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself”, that “it can recognize one’s readings of Whitman’s body of writing. In thinking about the poem as the central work, one can make discussion about the culture of democracy” (Kateb 21). The poem presents Whitman's seemingly inconsistent and self-contradictory attitude he holds toward slavery that has long been a source of critical debate: With music strong I come, with my cornets and my drums, I play not marches for accepted victors only, I play marches for conquer’d and slain persons. …………………………………………….. I beat and pound for the dead, I blow through my embouchures my loudest and gayest for them. Vivas to those who have fail’d! And to those whose war-vessels sank in the sea! And to those themselves
who sank in the sea! And to all generals that lost engagements, and all overcome heroes! And the numberless unknown heroes equal to the greatest heroes known! (Song of Myself, Sec. 18:1-2/5-11) Therefore, Whitman’s national ambition presents him as a social reformer, embodying democracy and union for the states. He is proud of those people who laid their life for others to live in a democratic and peaceful society. They are called ‘heroes’ as they did their best to keep union and put an end for slavery, race, sex discrimination, diversity and abolitionism. Another element to Whitman was his love for the soldier, the common man, the workingman, that are considered the real heroes of America:
The equality of all humans is still a topic that is discussed today in the United States. In the eighteenth century the equality of some humans was a topic that the privileged populace tended to ignore. During this time period a very select group of humans were allocated full rights, this group consisted of white male property owners. Neither women nor African Americans had full rights during this time period. Women would not gain the right to vote until 1920 and the African Americans until 1869, but even then they did not reap the rights that white men possessed(History.com Staff; ACLU Staff) . As you might imagine, white men during the eighteenth century were not keen to distribute equality to those that they thought were below them. Though this did not apply to all white men of the time. A man by the name, Walt Whitman, went against these societal beliefs and desired for an equality for all.
The reader is first introduced to the idea of Douglass’s formation of identity outside the constraints of slavery before he or she even begins reading the narrative. By viewing the title page and reading the words “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, written by himself” the reader sees the advancement Douglass made from a dependent slave to an independent author (Stone 134). As a slave, he was forbidden a voice with which he might speak out against slavery. Furthermore, the traditional roles of slavery would have had him uneducated—unable to read and incapable of writing. However, by examining the full meaning of the title page, the reader is introduced to Douglass’s refusal to adhere to the slave role of uneducated and voiceless. Thus, even before reading the work, the reader knows that Douglass will show “how a slave was made a man” through “speaking out—the symbolic act of self-definition” (Stone 135).
Very few people will contest that Walt Whitman may be one of the most important and influential writers in American literary history and conceivably the single most influential poet. However many have claimed that Whitman’s writing is so free form as evident in his 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass and Song of Myself that it has no style. The poetic structures he employs are unconventional but reflect his very democratic ideals towards America. Although Whitman’s writing does not include a structure that can be easily outlined, masterfully his writing conforms itself to no style, other then its own universal and unrestricted technique. Even though Whitman’s work does not lend itself to the conventional form of poetry in the way his contemporaries such as Longfellow and Whittier do, it holds a deliberate structure, despite its sprawling style of free association.
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.
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.
Walt Whitman is commonly known as the bard of America, a poet who wrote about the common man of the country as had never been done before. He was able to do so because he was a common man, as can be seen in lines such as "This is the city and I am one of the citizens." Within his poetry he often used certain tools of the typical epic tale, borrowed from such tales as The Iliad, and The Odyssey. All of these tools can be seen within the lines of his lengthy poem of fifty-two sections "Song of Myself." The first of these tools include an invocation of the muse, as can be seen in the lines "I loafe and invite my soul," which appears to be an invocation of a muse, or his own soul which may also be his muse. Another tool used is cataloguing, throughout this poem Whitman incorporates many descriptions and images that he lists in a catalogue form. Another typical epic tool is that of beginning en medias res, or in the middle of things. The use of similes, comparisons using like or as are another epic tool that is pervasive within Whitmans works. The final tool Whitman uses is the intermingling of high and low, or the common man associating with people of a different class for example when he compares someone to the president " Have you outstript the rest? are you the President?" Whitman also incorporates certain personas into his works when he uses "I" and "me", which do not always refer to him. Lastly, Whitman uses a form of writing called free verse, which exhibits no conscious rhythmic structure, it is unrhymed. It is with this form that Whitman sets out to capture the American vernacular, making his poetry more of a representation of Americas common man.
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.
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 semester, individuality has been the foundation for several of them. Walt Whitman takes his newfound ideas and Quaker background and introduces American Literature to a totally different meaning of individuality in "Song of Myself."
One very important topic that major American authors Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson incorporated into their writing was the idea of the “self” or “self-identity”. Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were prolific major American poets and many of the topics they chose to write about involved aspects of transcendentalism. Though Whitman and Dickinson wrote about some of the same topics, they did not share the same meanings, especially with the description of “self”. Published in 1855 within a poetry collection called Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself” gives a look into how Walt Whitman felt about self-identity. Whitman uses a first person narrator to describe the “self” as the celebration of the individual through personal exploration and gaining personal experience. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I heard a Fly buzz when I died” published in 1896 as part of Poems by Emily Dickinson (third series), she alludes that the key to identifying the “self” is sight.
Walt Whitman is considered the foremost poet of American democracy of his time. Not only did he fully embrace it, but he believed that American democracy was more than a political system, but a way of life (Casale 48). Many of his personal experiences influenced his deep democratic point of view (48). As a volunteer at an army hospital during the American Civil War, he saw many die and became increasingly grateful for the opportunities provided by the American government (Mirsky). Later, as he was residing in New York City, Whitman witnessed America face urbanization. He loved the diversity of the cities and believed it was possible because of democracy (Brand). This adoration of democracy is apparent in many of Whitman’s works, such as “Drum-Taps”
While the poem can be termed to be democratic, both in subject matter and its language, Whitman is viewed to be cataloging the ‘new’ America that he is seeing around him. The poem includes subject matter such as relationships, patriotism, heroes, family and ancestors, and a view on social commentaries too.
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
Walt Whitman was arguable one of the most influential poets during the Civil War era. Though never directly involved in war, Whitman was able to talk about the war in a more insightful way than many poets at the time could. Whitman was most active in writing during the times before and after the war, choosing to dedicate himself to helping wounded soldiers during the war instead. Walt Whitman’s poetry reflects the progression of his philosophy of America: his initial view of America was uplifting, represented in his Pre-Civil war poems and while the Civil War poetry presents the degradation of American society, Whitman’s final poetry returns to a realistic, optimistic view for America.
Illustrated by Whitman from his poem “ Song of Myself “ from the collection Leaves of Grass that the individual place is to be part of nature. Whitman articulates, “ This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers “ (ll. 31). This example proves that people who die and get buried fertilizes the soil and grows grass. It’s being proven by the corpse buried underground and grass that’s growing from it, and it’s significant because in order to live individuals have to die and in order to die individuals have to live. Transcendentalist like Whitman valued nature and the individuals belonging in it. Therefore, Whitman illustrates, “ They are alive and well somewhere, The smallest sprouts show there
This image is explored within the poems to depict the theme of slavery. On Liberty and Slavery ---------------------- On Liberty and Slavery is an example of a metaphysical poem; it deals with the concept of freedom using direct, personal language and contemporary allusions. The rhythm used in the poem is taken from the rhythm of Wesley's hymns; Charles Wesley was the brother of John Wesley (founder of the Methodists) and hymn wri... ... middle of paper ... ...