Stan.tk Study Guide Walt Whitman, Song of Myself (1) BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Walter Whitman (May 31, 1819 ± March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse (or vers libre). His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Born on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War in addition to publishing his poetry. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman©s major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden, New Jersey where his health further declined. He died at age 72 and his funeral became a public spectacle. Whitman©s sexuality is often discussed alongside his poetry. Though he is usually labeled as either homosexual or bisexual, it is unclear if Whitman ever had a sexual relationship with another man and biographers continue to debate his sexuality. Whitman was concerned with politics throughout his life. He supported the Wilmot Proviso and opposed the extension of slavery generally, but did not believe in the abolitionist movement. (Wikipedia) (2) TEXT OF WORK Read the poem with annotations at: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2288.html Summary of class-covered sections Sections 1, 2 This poem celebrates the poet's self, but, while the ªIº is the poet himself, it is, at the same time, universalized. The poet will ªsing myself,º but ªwhat I assume you shall assume,/For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.º The poet loafs on the grass and invites his soul to appear. He relates that he was ªform'd from this soil,º for he was born here, as were his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. He is thirtyseven years old and ªin perfect health.º He hopes to continue his celebration of self until his death. He will let nature speak without check with original energy. In section 2, the self, asserting its identity, declares its separateness from civilization and its closeness to nature. ªHouses and rooms are full of perfume,º Whitman says. ªPerfumesº are symbols of other individual selves; but outdoors, the earth's atmosphere denotes the universal self. The poet is tempted to let himself be submerged by other individual selves, but he is determined to maintain his individuality. The poet expresses the joy he feels through his senses. He is enthralled by the ecstasy of his physical sensations. He can enjoy each of the five sensesÐtasting, hearing, smelling, touching, and seeing-and even moreÐthe process of breathing, the beating of his heart, and ªthe feeling of health.º He invites the reader to ªstop this day and nightº with him in order to discover ªthe origin of all poems.º Sections 6, 7, 10, 17 Section 6 presents the first significant transition in the poem and introduces the central symbol in ªSong of Myself.º A child appears with both hands full of Leaves from the fields and asks the poet, ªWhat is the grass?º The poet at first feels incapable of answering this question but continues thinking about it. He muses that perhaps ªthe grass is itself a childº or maybe it is ªthe handkerchief. In Section 7 the poet signifies his universal nature, which finds it ªjust as lucky to dieº as to be born. The universal 1 Stan.tk Study Guide ± Walt Whitman, Song of Myself self finds both ªthe earth good and the stars good.º The poet is part of everyone around him. He sees all and condemns nothing. Sections 8-16 consist of a catalog of all that the poet seesÐpeople of both sexes, all ages, and all conditions, in many different walks of life, in the city and in the country, by the mountain and by the sea. Even animals are included. Section 17 again refers to the universality of the poetÐhis thoughts are ªthe thoughts of all men in all ages and lands.º Sections 18 and 19 salute all members of humanity. Grass, a central symbol of this epic poem, suggests the divinity of common things. The nature and significance of grass unfold the themes of death and immortality, for grass is symbolic of the ongoing cycle of life present in nature, which assures each man of his immortality. Nature is an emblem of God, for God's eternal presence in it is evident everywhere. Grass is the key to the secrets of man's relationship with the Divine. It indicates that, God is everything and everything is God. These sections deal with the themes of God, life, death, and nature. Their primary aim is to reveal the nature of the poet's journey through life and the spiritual knowledge which he strives for along the way. They reveal an essential element in a mystical experienceÐthe awakening of the poet's self. ªSong of Myselfº is a poetical expression of that mystical experience. It arises out of a belief that it is possible to achieve communion with God through contemplation and love, without the medium of human reason. It is a way of attaining knowledge of spiritual truths through intuition. Sections I to 5 concern the poet's entry into a mystical state, while sections 6-16 describe the awakening of the poet's self to his own universality. Section 24 Section 24 presents some of Whitman's basic tenets. He calls himself a ªkosmos.º The word ªkosmos,º meaning a universe, is significant and amounts to a renewed definition of the poet's self as one who loves all people. Through him, ªmany long dumb voicesº of prisoners, slaves, thieves, and dwarfsÐall of those whom ªthe others are down uponºÐare articulated and transfigured. He also speaks of lust and the flesh, for each part of the body is a miracle: ªThe scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer.º In section 25 Whitman dwells on the comprehensive range of the poet's power. He declares that ªwith the twirl of my tongue I encompass world and volumes of world. Speech is the twin of my vision.º He must speak, for he cannot contain all that he has to say; and yet ªwriting and talk do not prove me.º What he is can be seen in his face. The poet's self-appraisal is the keynote of sections 20-25. He describes himself as gross and mystical. He feels he is part of all that he has met and seen. He is essentially a poet of balance, since he accepts both good and evil in his cosmos. His awareness of the universe, or cosmic consciousness, is expressed when he calls himself ªa kosmos,º invoking a picture of the harmony of the universe. He accepts all life, naked and bare, noble and ignoble, refined and crude, beautiful and ugly, pleasant and painful. The physical and the spiritual both are aspects of his vision, which has an organic unity like the unity of the body and the soul. Whitman realizes that the physical as well as the spiritual are aspects of the Divine. The culmination of the poet's experience of self is the ecstacy of love. Contemplating the meaning of grass in terms of mystical experience, he understands that all physical phenomena are as deathless as the grass. These chants express various stages of the poet's mystical experience of his self. The first stage may be termed the ªAwakening of Selfº; the second, the ªPurification of Self.º Purification involves an acceptance of the body and all its functions. This acceptance reflects the poet's goal to achieve mystical experience through physical reality. This is in opposition to the puritanical view of purification through mortification of the flesh. In Whitman's philosophy, the self is purified not through purgation but through acceptance of the physical. Man should free himself from his traditional sense of sin. The mystical experience paves the way for the merging of physical reality with a universal reality. Whitman is representative of all humanity because, he says, the voices of diverse people speak through himÐvoices of men, animals, and even insects. To him, all life is a miracle of beauty. Sections 20-25 close on a note of exaltation of the poet's power of expression, although they indicate that his deeper self is beyond expression. Sections 46, 49, 52 In section 46, the poet launches himself on the ªperpetual journey,º urging all to join him and uttering the warning, ªNot 1, not any one else can travel that road for you,/You must travel it for yourself.º The poet (section 47) says that 2 Stan.tk Study Guide ± Walt Whitman, Song of Myself he is a teacher, but he hopes that those he teaches will learn to assert their own individuality: ªHe most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher.º Section 48 repeats the idea that ªthe soul is not more than the body,º just as ªthe body is not more than the soul.º Not even God is more important than one's self.