Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” employs a contemplative speaker to develop its theme, which implores the reader to look deeper into their perceptions and search for further meaning than what is on the surface. Whitman uses grass as a subject, which later morphs into death and rebirth, but his message remains consistent: the nature of the world and its inhabitants is complex, and that complexity deserves attention. His speaker, who appears to be a reflection of Whitman himself, directs his questioning towards himself and to the inanimate, instead of to the audience, and thereby creates a quiet and rhetorical tone. Despite the subject’s later turn towards death, he maintains the same tone throughout, focusing on the same respect and curiosity regardless of the subject …show more content…
His first suggestion, that it is a “flag of [his] disposition” to represent his own hope is uncomplicated (3). The idea of green being a color of newness and hope is clearly stated within the poem and is a obvious connotation instead of one that observes on a deeper level. The next idea, that the grass is “[a] scented gift and remembrancer” of God is also a conclusion that requires little thought, as beauty and the natural world reminding its viewer of the person or being who created it is a concept that applies far beyond just grass (5). By building his speaker’s suggestions from the simplistic to the more complex, Whitman once again relates his speaker and audience by reflecting the way anyone would come up with new explanations and ideas. He has not yet fully explored the meaning, but he is on his way, and Whitman portrays that in order to create a relatable and believable speaker to use as an example of how one could go about exploring his own