Walt Whitman Individualism

Walt Whitman’s beautiful poem, O Me! O Life!, argues that “life exists” and builds upon the ideas of transcendentalism to emphasize individualism. He structures his poem into two stanzas in order to produce a question and answer style mimicking how an individual would deal through their consciousness with the dilemmas present in life. Throughout the first stanza, he depicts how the individual believes that he is the most “foolish” and “faithless” in a world flooded with those specific characteristics that have come to define society. This part especially touched me as I often am my own worst enemy, lambasting myself for my mistakes and thinking that no one could make as dumb of mistakes as I have. Moreover, I fail to lift up my head and notice

that the mistakes I make are not done by me alone but is a commonality within the people who surround me. In addition, Whitman depicts how a majority of the populace and himself has come to think that life is not worth living as they fail to reach what they desire. Whether it be knowledge, or power, or fame, the individual will “vainly crave the light” but will be faced with “poor results” which diminishes the sense of life within them. Recently, I have come to feel like Whitman in that I have lived “empty and useless years of rest” not accomplishing any sort of goal or reaching a new sense of power that will drive me to accomplish this goal. However, he lays these questions to rest presenting that just by existing and having “life” a unique identity is held by each human being which gives a sense of power to mankind. Furthermore, through this sense of independence in the masses of society, a “verse” of different sizes, shapes, and forms can be contributed by each mortal. The ending of the poem stirred the resting feeling within me that has now empowered me to bring a change to the world. That as my own individual I can commit a verse to society that will separate me from the rest.