Walt Whitmans Poem: Song of Myself: Speaking to Every Man
Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself," is a significant piece ofliterature because it reveals one man's attempt at not only understandinghis own experience but his fellow man's as well. It reaches out to everyindividual--smart or simple. Whitman desired to cross boundaries with thispoem and help us realize how we ultimately depend on earth other. Hiseyewitness accounts of the suffering brought about by the Civil Warprobably provided the impetus for writing the poem. His compassion for hisfellow man is only matched by his appreciation for life itself. "Song ofMyself" is indeed a celebration--of life, of man, of being a part of theuniverse. When we take time to understand the poem, we realize that we arecoming close to understanding the poet as he wished to be remembered. It is important to understand that Whitman wished to challengecontemporary literature, which he felt was written for the "exceptionalman" (Spiller) rather than the simple man. The common poetry of the daywas one external feature that influenced Whitman's poetry in general. In"Song of Myself," this idea is prevalent and can be seen in the opening ofthe poem when he identifies himself with every man. He tells us, "For
He reinforces a sense of liberation when he writes, "Through me forbiddenvoices;/Voices of sexes and lusts, voices veil'd and I remove theveil,/Voices indecent by me clarified and transfigur'd" (Whitman 512-4). He was first speaking to every man--not just the intellectual,poetic type, but also the simple man. He writes, "I have said that the soul is not more than thebody,/And I have said that the body is not more than the soul;/And nothing,not God, is greater to one than one's self is" (1265-7). Rather, he indicatesthat he will simply return to the earth. He encourages us toexperience a sense of liberation when he tells us to "Unscrew the locksfrom the doors! /Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!" (495-6). He writes: And I say to mankind, Be not curious about God, For I, who am curious about each, am not curious about God; (No array of terms can say how much I am at peace about God, and about death. Spillerbelieves this message is critical to the concept of the entire poem becauseit establishes the notion that the poet considers himself to be a part ofthe "eternal time stream" (Spiller 478). Whitman was speaking out about severalthings. His emphasis onthe spirit is critical to understanding life. Man must not simply existbut there must be peace with oneself. The completely understand the poem "Song of Myself," we must examine thetime frame in which it was written. When the poet speaks of thevoices of every man, he is speaking not only of men, but women, soldiers,slaves, and children who were all experiencing the ravages of war. He cameto see all individuals all as one, which was also one with the universe. The poet clearly sees himself in everyone heencounters.
Common topics in this essay:
Civil War,
God Nor,
Ellis Havelock,
Walt Whitman's,
civil war,
poet considers,
entire poem,
poem song,
body soul,
curious god,
understand poem,
spiller 478,
compassion fellow,
sense liberation,
|
Acceptance Essays
