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Ideas In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

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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 …show more content…

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

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Walt Whitman was an American poet and journalist born on May 31, 1819. Whitman was influenced by transcendentalism, which was an idea emphasizing that to understand nature, one must analyze the reasoning or process behind it. Whitman had done many writings throughout his life that had been inspirations for other poets. For example, in the spring of 1855, Whitman published “Leaves of Grass”, which was a collection of twelve unnamed poems. This writing was enticed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who thought that the collection of poems were “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom.”

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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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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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He says that “The spirit of God is the brother of my own,” meaning that God, the divine creator, the person who stresses, ‘Love thy neighbor,” is his brother, and all people’s brother which indirectly suggests that everyone love each other and take care of each other because we are family. Whitman then goes on, saying that while America is great, life is not perfect, as everyone face challenges and tough times in our lives, “It is not upon you alone the dark patches fall/ The dark threw its patches down upon me also,” (Whitman 12). He discusses the fact that while America is an ideal society where people love each other, life is not so perfect, as the hardships we face are difficult to overcome.

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Throughout his poem, he constantly talks about the importance of coming together and merging. Whitman says, “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 1). On the surface, this quote may appear to illustrate that Whitman thinks highly of himself, but it is more than this. The last part of this quote emphasizes that we are all connected and even though we are all individuals, we should not forget that we are connected to one another. Whitman also says, “Urge and urge and urge, Always the procreant urge of the world.

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To begin with, Whitman throughout the poem shows a lot about what he believes and what he's opposed to as the states that he is both the body and the soul. By providing the lines he provides, it reflects his individualism as well as gives ideas about the topic of his poem as the title says it clear that it is about himself. Whithmand in the poem relates to the Romantic era as he mentions nature a lot making it obvious of his love for it. Romanticism era shown by Whitman is expressed in the poem as he says ïn the beginning, second stanza ¨I loafe and invite my soul, I learn and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer

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The renewed sand gives a chance for new beginnings. Whitman uses the symbolism of nature to speak of his feelings, especially his loneliness. Each piece of nature Whitman used played a role to explain his feelings. As each poem progresses, new feelings arose.

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This explains how he believed that the stars and the grass should be thought of as equal and man should show appreciation for grass as well. Moreover, Whitman implies that because the grass is so close in terms of touch, humans should enjoy it more since stars are completely out of reach. As it is evident that Whitman appreciates

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He, unlike other poets of the time, he shines a positive light on women and glorifies their strength and power. Whitman makes the decision in “Song of Myself” to direct

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“Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is bonded with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words,”(Paul Engle). Poetry covers all spectrums of life, whether it encompasses morality, love, death, or finding ones true self. When reading poetry one may stumble across pure brilliance, words so powerful they have the ability challenge the mind. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman have that such gift, and are nothing short of illustrious.

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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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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).

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