Song of Myself- 23 In Walt Whitman 's Songs of Myself, Whitman celebrates the relationship between the natural world and himself. Throughout the 52 sections, Whitman explores the universal connectedness among all people, and weaves in messages of defiance against the pre-existing social standards. Although the poem was written during the Victorian era, Whitman’s messages still weight a heavy hand on the minds of intellectuals today. He urges the readers to embrace and accept originally in their communities. In Section 21 specifically, Whitman clues the readers into his ideas of being both - an individual but also universal. In the first line of section 21, Whitman proclaims himself the “poet of the Body” as well as the “poet of the Soul. ( 1-2)” Significantly these are 2 of the 3 parts of the human.
/ The pleasures heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me.(1-4)” From the start, Whitman is describing but also celebrating his ability to accept those that seem to contradict one another. The concept of
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In the later end of this section, Whitman describes his deep love and appreciation for the natural world. He says “ Smile O voluptuous cool-breath’d earth!,/ Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees.../ Earth of the shine and dark mottling the tide of river!.../ Smile, for your lover comes. ( 20-23). In this stanza of the poem, Whitman explains his reasoning for accepting all around him. He describes how although we, as in human, want to define everyone by our terms and group things that are similar, the Earth is very diverse and is full of ‘contradicting’ ideas. Whitman loves the diverse aspects that make up the Earth, and strives to share that with everyone. An interesting point about Whitman 's songs is that although it is called “Songs of myself”, Whitman explores his relationship to those around him. From section 23, Whitman maintains the role as prophet for all of humanity and wants to connect the voices of the human community to that of