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Song of myself by walt whitman meaning explained
Song of myself by walt whitman meaning explained
Song of myself by walt whitman meaning explained
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Walt Whitman as a Voice for the People
"The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as much as he absorbs his country."
This brilliant quote from Walt Whitman thus ends his preface to Leaves of Grass, and thereafter begins the poem "Song of Myself." To many, upon their first reading, this was a crude, shocking and distasteful piece of work. but to me...this was a celebration of life. And not just a celebration of his own life, but of every life, of the American life. Walt Whitman is the "voice of the people" and this I believe because, while he did write of things that were not seen as aesthetically beautiful by many...including homosexuality, loneliness, and death. And while these topics were not picturesque to many people, they are life. Real life. And this is what I, as a reader, loves the most about "Song of Myself". His voices is a fresher wind from those that came before him. Whitman offered an entirely new style that could make even similar subject matter seem incredibly different, and embody entirely opposite emotions. America was finally allowed to step out into the windí and learn how refreshing truth can be. Walt Whitman was the voice of every American.
First of all, I love the awareness that Whitman has of his own life, and of everyone elseís life. He hides nothing of himself from the reader, and offers himself truthfully, saying:
"Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any man
hearty and clean,
Not an inch nore a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be less
familiar than the rest"
(section 3, lines 49-51)
We are able to see that this poet has such a love of life, acceptance of order, and honesty to offer. In turn he allows the ...
... middle of paper ...
...e. Nothing is insignificant when seen through Whitmanís eyes. Also, in this subject, we really see his Pantheist view coming out loud and clear when we writes:
"I hear and behold God in every object, yet I understand God not
in the least,
Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself."
(lines 1274-5)
I found Walt Whitman to be an incredible poet, and I loved his writing style. He had the ability to make everything significant, and natural. He had a way of letting everything fall into itís own place, without casting a certain order. I will conclude by leaving you with Whitmanís own words, in the hopes that they will inspire you as much as they have me:
"Long enough have you dreamed contemptible dreams,
Now I wash the gum from your eyes,
You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every
moment of your life."
Here Whitman’s persona is taking a great interest and pleasure in the mere routine and wit of this young man, who is most likely unaware of the fact he is being observed. Whitman is e...
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
Whitman’s approach to poetry is a reflection of his thought. These thoughts are free and wild, and his typical run-on sentences and his endless litanies of people and places represent the thoughts trying to be conveyed. The overall effect of these run-on sentences provides the reader with a feeling of greatness and of freedom. All of the feelings that are evoked from Whitman’s style can be classified as quintessentially American democratic feelings. The belief that Whitman had no style would imply that Americans as a society have no style, a statement that not only Whitman but Emerson and Thoreau as well fought against through their writings. Whitman and Emerson fighting for the same cause is not coincidental, Whitman has often been viewed as the “child” of Emerson, his work being greatly influenced by Emerson. Whitman’s technique of looking at everything as a whole and always opposed to breaking up the whole can be linked to his belief of unity within our country and the reason why he took the Civil War extremely hard and personal.
Many prayers these days include a blessing for the soldiers. It really does not matter where the plea for the troops comes in a prayer; it may be in the middle or tacked on to the end, but it sounds something like the following: “Lord bless our troops, and bring them home safely.” Yes, bless the troops, and every one wants each one to come home safely. However, this is a very general prayer. People use the verb “bless” because they really do not know what to say. What does it mean to “bless?” Some people can relate to the soldiers but most cannot. Some know what it is like to be away and under the pressures of combat, but most do not. An unknown soldier has said, “For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know." Christians with admirable intentions, lift up prayers to the Heavenly Father, knowing the Lord said in Luke 11:9, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Claiming this promise, it is Christians’ hope to aid born-again soldiers in the battles fought and waged by laying their petitions of their heart at the feet of the Lord.
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 poem is about the marvel of astronomy. He wanted to learn about the stars. He went and heard an astronomer. He tells, “When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me.” All the data about astronomy was laid out in front of him, but this did not captivate his interest or filled his curiosity. It mad things worst. His plan to see the beauty in the stars was turned to boredom and sitting in a tiresome, lackluster lecture. He writes, “How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick.” The lecture, data, and astronomer were not the beauty he wanted to see. The visual experience is what he wanted to see. The silence and view of the stars was better for him than the lecture and data. The beauty is what he really wanted. He did not want the hard facts.
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere” (Whitman 33) is Walt Whitman’s first and one of his most popular works, Leaves of Grass. It was and still is very inspirational to many people including Ralph Waldo and many others after him. He had a major influence on modern free verse. Following a hard childhood in and around New York, Walter Whitman was well known and received in his time for Leaves of Grass which did not use the universal theme, which he became known for in the eighteenth century as well as his way of seeing the world in a view that very few could comprehend in his time.
Nanotechnology is defined as “ a technology executed on the scale of less than 100 nanometers, the goal of which is to control individual atoms and molecules, especially to create computer chips and other microscopic devices” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1999). In the early 1970’s an MIT student by the name of K. Eric Drexler came up with the idea of manufacturing things, both biological and non-biological, from the molecular level up. Drexler noticed the amazing talents of natural biology and wondered if humans could mimic biology on a mechanical level,
...er. Using this knowledge of behaviors that often occur among people with a Bipolar Disorder, we can tell the story of her struggle with a mental illness, which at the time was known but could not be treated. Telling her story about the influence of her Bipolar Disorder had on her accomplishments and failures is captivating and reveals a life and death that is almost comprehensible.
Whitman's radical ideas of individualism have a great deal to do with his Quaker background. The Quaker religion is one in which the authority was Inner Light. "Whitman himself was not only personally familiar with, but deeply impressed by, a religion whose only authority was the Inner Light" (Canoy 481). The Inner Light is a special influence, which made Whitman's poetry unique. This certain influence did such things as guide Whitman down his soul searching path as well as help him define within himself the characteristics of an individual. In section fifteen of "Song of Myself," Whitman discusses people from every class and every profession. He goes on to say "the young fellow drives the express-wagon... love him though I do not know him;" (2753). ...
The poem has set a certain theme and tone but no definite rhyme. In this poem, the poet explores into a thought of the self, the all-encompassing "I," sexuality, democracy, the human body, and what it means to live in the modern world. He addresses that the human body is sacred and every individual human is divine. Hence, Whitman was known for writing poems about individualism, democracy, nature, and war.
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” and “Out of the Cradle Rocking.” However, of all his poems, his masterpiece, “Song of Myself,” first released in 1855 in the first edition of Leaves of Grass, is clearly the best embodiment of Whitman’s love for American democracy. The poet was fascinated with the realization that masses of unique individuals construct a single democracy under which everyone is amalgamated.
Walt Whitman is arguably America’s most influential poet in history. Born Walter Whitman in May 31st, 1819 to Walter Whitman and Louisa van Velsor, he was immediately nicknamed ‘Walt’ to distinguish him from his father. He came to life in West Hills on the famous Long Island, the second of nine children that grew up in Brooklyn. He came to be fondly known as ‘the Bard of Democracy’, mainly because that was a main message in his work. He is also celebrated as ‘the father of the free verse’. He was a liberal thinker and was vehemently against slavery, although later on he was against the abolitionists because, according to him, they were anti-democracy. He managed to marry transcendentalism with realism in his works. His occupation was a printer school teacher and editor.
Although Whitman uses a great deal of structural ways to stress his ideas, he also uses many other ways of delivering his ideas. First of all, Whitman portrays himself as a public spokesman of the masses. The tone of the poem is a very loud, informative tone that grabs ones attention. The emphasis placed on the word “all” adds to the characterization of Whitman as a powerful speaker. Furthermore, Whitman takes part in his own poem. Participating in his own poem, Whitman moreover illustrates the connection between everything in life. Lastly, Whitman, most of all, celebrates universal brotherhood and democracy.
Nanotechnology includes nanorobots which are so small that they can be injected into the human bloodstream after which the nanorobots can do investigations or repair at cellular level. Nanorobots could optimize the delivery of pharmaceutical products, these means that medicines which are targeted on a specific type of cells can be delivered to only those cells by the nanorobots. The robots can attach to the cells after which they can inject the drug into the target cells. This could be a great breakthrough for cancer treatments such as chemotherapy because there is a minimal chance of injecting healthy cells with the drug and therefor negative side effects can be avoided.