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Critical Analysis Of Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

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In Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself’, one can appreciate the poem properly by understanding the poem’s voice, imagery, figures of speech, symbols, word choice, and theme. To understand it though requires a great deal of thought to arrive to the meaning behind the writing. Especially since this poem was written in the nineteenth century and is written in a very loose structure and free verse. Firstly, the speaker of the poem is an individual, Walt Whitman himself, as seen by the repetition of “I” in the poem. In addition, the poem’s title “Song of Myself’ gives us a hint that it will be about himself. Also Whitman introduces his personas in the poem as “my soul” and “myself” (1149). These personas are two different things that Whitman gives life to. These personas help Whitman experience life to the fullest throughout his journey in the poem. Secondly, Whitman’s use of imagery shows the power of his imagination and the extent of his sensory impressions. Line twenty-two for example brings forth the energy coming from nature and its spiritual affect on the self. In addition, Whitman uses the senses to draw a picture for the reader. Touch for example, is used in “a few light kisses, a few embraces…”(1150). Hearing is used in “the sound of the belch’d words of my voice…”(1150). Sight is …show more content…

It was very descriptive as seen in “the sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and dark-color’d sea-rocks…”(1149). Ambiguous by not finishing a phrase as he says “I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, hoping to cease not till death” which makes the reader become the poet and fill in the gap after “begin” (1149). His diction was also informal due to the fact that he used colloquialism as he said “the belch’s words of my voice loos’d to the eddies of the wind”(1150). Whitman used this diction so any common person could understand it during his

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In “A Noiseless, Patient Spider,” Walt Whitman suggests that to survive and achieve emotional fulfillment, connections must be present. In stanza 1, the author mentions a spider trying to make a web on a “promontory” over the sea (1.line 2). The spider is personified in the first stanza and described as “noiseless [and] patient”, which helps the reader discover the spider’s initial personality and instinct. In lines 2 and 3, the writer uses the repetition of the word “mark’d” to signify the importance of the next lines, in which he parallels the speaker to the spider through word-choice and further repetition. The words “vacant” and “vast” provide the reader with a sense of the spider’s precarious nature and the words’ alliteration add emphasis to the magnitude of the setting and

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In the poem, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, Walt Whitman exhibits the theme of experiencing certain situations before critiquing them. For instance, Whitman declares, “ I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself. ”(line 5) He felt lost due to not knowing about astronomy.

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To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.” This relates to the beliefs of Walt Whitman by stating the reliance on the physical body and soul. In mentioning his new dependence on anything but “your hands and your own head,” Christopher connects to Whitman’s idea of the body’s unpredictable abilities. In I Sing the Body Electric #7, Whitman emphasizes the value of the physical body and the “wonders within there yet,” connecting to Christopher’s idea that his physical body is capable of surviving independently in the wild.

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He establishes this through metaphor in the first line when he says, “varied carols” which represents the different voices of people singing in America. When Whitman writes about the carpenter singing “as he measures his plank or beam or the mason, boatman, the shoe maker, the wood cutter, the mother are all singing as they work throughout the day. By writing this he illustrates that each singing worked is different; no two people are doing the same thing. This suggest that the people are not singing the same song, but they do all share one thing- a dream of a better future. Whitman also use repetition by beginning every line with the working class folks “singing” in his or her unique way and repeats the structure to suggest the feeling of harmony.

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In Walt Whitman 's "Song of Myself," the author desires to encompass the American identity within one poem, embarking on a

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In a modern prose poem,“When Walt Whitman Was A Little Girl” by M.C. Biegner, Walt Whitman, a nineteenth-century male poet, Whitman is described as an genderfluid character as the poem traces his transition from a little girl to a grown man. Because of this gender ambiguity the pronouns used to describe Walt shift throughout the poem from she to he as Whitman matures. The poem addresses the expected conformity attached to gender stereotypes by using Walt Whitman’s gender fluidity to present a contrast to these stereotypes. By imagining Walt Whitman as a “little girl,” Biegner encourages the reader to examine the existence of gender fluidity by breaking down the gendered stereotypes and through exemplifying traits of both genders in Walt. This analysis of Whitman is not distant to who he really was as a writer.

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By doing this Whitman introduces himself and at the same time identifies with the reader. He also states that he should be celebrated not only by himself, but also by the reader because they are the same. He also gives off a feeling that his writing is true and good, we get the feeling he is one of us and at the same time a poet. This leads to comparing Whitman with a preacher or public speaker of some sort, he wishes to be

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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 a genuine life 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 are spiritual. Whitman argues, in Song of Myself, that your identity and sense of self are 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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Both of Walt Whitman articles are transcendentalism; Mr. Whitman shows individualism and nature in “Song to Myself” which are qualities of transcendentalism. In “Song to myself” he mostly uses individualism as you can tell just by the title he is describing himself in a song. Mr.Whitman uses repetition in his poem “I celebrate myself”(Whitman 1). Throughout the poem he uses the word “I” to describe himself which shows individualism which is a romantic quality. Mr.Whitman also uses imagery in his “Song to Myself”.

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Echoing Transcendentalism Can you achieve a flowing, harmonious life without disconnecting each day’s thoughts and therefore allowing possible contradiction? Whitman and Emerson would answer no to this oxymoron type question. Both men wrote of transcendentalism, and believed that by allowing yourself to contradict with your past thoughts you will be able to grow as a man. In Emerson’s Self Reliance he explains how a man can achieve greatness by allowing contradiction within himself. His central ideals are reflected in these lines: “Speak what you think now in hard words.

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Whitman’s experience as a wound-dresser at the time of the war gave him a unique perspective of the men and women on the front lines. One way he shows the realism is through his free verse style that doesn’t have a rhyming pattern or many other traditional poetry rules. This gives his poetry sort of an edge that lets the realism come through. The way Whitman gets the audience’s attention in his free verse style is through repetition of words that rhyme but with no necessary order. One example of this is his use of the first-person pronoun I in “The Wound-Dresser” for example at the beginning of most stanzas Whitman starts out by saying “I dress a wound in the side, deep, deep, … I dress the perforated shoulder, … I am faithful, I do not give out” (Levine 78).

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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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