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Comparing Emerson And Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

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Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman have both written literary works where they explore the idea of self-discovery. Ralph Waldo Emerson has written an essay named Self-Reliance and Walt Whitman has written a poem named Song of Myself. The keywords for this essay are self, me and I and these words are well represented in the literary works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, however, the question is what Emerson and Whitman are trying to say with their work and how are their works are interpreted. This analytical essay will focus on how Self is described in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Self-Reliance and Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself.

Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself is a poem where he celebrates the self. One can argue that his poem is quite arrogant especially if they only would focus on the title or the first verse “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Whitman, 1892). Despite this, Whitman had a lot of interesting …show more content…

Emerson wrote, “Society everywhere is in a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater”. In other words, Emerson wanted to open people minds and let them be original people and not to be caught in the obligations of society. Another similarity between the work of Emerson and Whitman is that all people share the same personal thought to believe in, Emerson writes “to believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius” (Emerson, 1967), and Whitman have a similar thought in his poem, “these are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me” (Whitman,

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As a grownup and an adult for that matter, one cannot be like others one has learned from. One should not make efforts to live like ones’ parents, teachers or elders in our society. One must strive to be one ’s own true self. Emerson is convincing that nonconformity is genius.

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The theme of the essay “Self Reliance” written by Emerson is for beings to not focus on those of others or subside his/her values to fit in with our society, for true geniuses comes from within and are made with their own heart and mind. His idea of self-reliance differs from that of the norm in that he doesn’t encourage those to mix into selfish ways but to be open and proud of their own individuality for that is the true key to life itself. Emerson’s idea is similar to the common use in that he encourages those to not depend on others to define his/her identity. 2. Emerson’s use of figurative language encourages his readers to view his ideas in a clearer and more emphasized perspective.

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In the poem, Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, he shows the reader exactly what he thinks life is about and the Transcendentalist way of thinking about life. “Now I will

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Ralph Emerson was a principal figure in the Transcendentalist movement of the 1840s, and he was also a well-known essayist and poet. His 1841 essay, Self-Reliance, emphasizes the importance of people finding their identity and being true to themselves. Throughout his essay, Emerson strains the importance of individuals avoiding conformity and following their own thoughts and judgments. He obtains his goal of conveying his message by using many allusions to make his point. Allusions help connect the ideas within a piece of writing to the bigger picture.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century poet, essayist, and famous philosopher, was a great influence on writers of his time and even some today. Many of his most famous works such as, “Self-Reliance” and “The American Scholar”, are about past issues that had been going on in his lifetime. Topics such as slavery, ideologies and mankind often fill up his writings. Early Life - Ralph Waldo Emerson, son of Reverend William Emerson, a well known clergyman.

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Emerson’s use of a aphoristic style can be seen in one of the most important quotes in “Self-Reliance.” “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Porte 279). This quote summarizes the whole essay and also

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Correspondingly, Transcendentalist writers, such as Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman, share this same view of the world and try to influence others to aspire for a simpler lifestyle. For example, Whitman writes in Song of Myself, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Whitman 436). This quote exemplifies the independence of Americans, because he explains that he does not need anyone else, since he possesses all the components needed with him to live happily. Although American Literature cannot be fully defined by these common themes, they are still tremendously important to examine in order to fully understand

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Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) is a man that looks at how people can stand out and be their own great individual from doing this. Feather said, “His beliefs and his idealism were strong influences on the work of his protégé Henry David Thoreau” She is saying that the most rememberable thing about emerson is that he was confident

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Emerson believed that each individual should trust their inner voice over society’s influence and that being sure of your self-identity is the source of all knowledge. This idea of individualism is showcased by Dickinson’s celebration and excitement towards being “Nobody,” as well as by Frost’s emphasis on knowing yourself and your decisions having an impact on the rest of your future. Emerson also believed that the individual should try to resist conformity and the pressure that society has on each of us. This idea is shown in both poems as well. In Dickinson’s poem, this is seen by the speaker’s rejection of “Somebody,” who is seen as “dreary” and “public.”

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Ralph Waldo Emerson was a well-known American writer of the nineteenth century. In his writing, Emerson speaks on behalf of cultural pressures and how this detrimentally impacts individuals in society. In Emerson’s essay Self-Reliance, he uses metaphors to reach out to individuals who lack self-identity. At the time, Emerson’s writing was notorious for being rebellious because his content was original and abstract. Through his writing style he had the ability to influence others to live life differently than society’s traditional customs.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman emphasize the importance of living true to yourself and developing complete self-acceptance. To live true to yourself and completely accept who you are, you must understand your identity and your sense of self. In Self-Reliance, Emerson explains that your identity and your sense of self is spiritual. Whitman argues, in Song of Myself, that your identity and sense of self is based on both your soul and your body. While both Emerson and Whitman allow for intimate connections and friendships, Emerson encourages people to have relationships with a select few, whereas Whitman encourages people to connect with everyone and anyone, due to their different views of self.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Self-Reliance” Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of America’s most significant thinkers and writers, in what is believed to be his most important and influential expression of America’s spirit “Self-Reliance” talks about the importance and significance of individualism and being yourself. Throughout his writing, Emerson uses many rhetorical devices, interesting sentence structures and hortatory tone in order to successfully explain the importance of being yourself. Emerson’s work often times stands out due to his interesting way of writing, and even in the first paragraph, Emerson is quick to grab the attention of his audience by using a periodic sentence and a dash with which he states his claim, “To believe your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men − that is genius” (Emerson 1). To put into other words, Emerson’s unique sentence structures in his writing really serve as effective and important tools.

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Whitman highlights the significance of each individual varied souls from all walks of life and their collective importance, “tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them… And of these one and all I weave the song of myself.” Besides this line providing the entire collections name (what does that mean), this rather brief statement buried under a mountain of personal experiences is essential to understanding the message of individuality. After encouraging his readers to have ultimate faith in their own souls and reach into the euphoric atmosphere of their individual passions, Whitman doubles back to emphasize the importance of connectedness to your fellow man. Just as individually, all of the people and stories listed earlier in this poem end

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Charles, Although I agree that Whitman’s “Song of Myself” was lengthy, I found the piece to be very enjoyable. I was compelled to research for meaning and explanations while reading his piece. The experience allowed me to interact versus just read. If a poet received awards for interaction, Whitman would have won the biggest prize. Dickinson’s poem was not appealing to me as much.

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In this grand poem, Whitman glorifies the unity of all people and life. He embraces the geographical diversity as well as the diversity of culture, work, as well as sexuality or beliefs. Whitman’s influence sets American dreams of freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment, and changes them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman appreciates hard work as well as being simple and non-egotistical. His major ideas are things such as soul, good health, as well as the love of nature.

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