Song of Myself
Walt Whitman’s work “Song of Myself” is an exertion of the composition “Leaves of Grass”, in which the author reflects his philosophy of life. Whitman, an American poet in the nineteenth century, engaged in a humanistic and transcendental approach. Transcendentalism, established by Immanuel Kant, is a philosophy based on the idea that one must examine and analyze the reasoning process. In his work, Song of Myself, we can clearly see the transcendental thought because of the reflection of his self and its relationship to the universe.
The poem starts with the line “I celebrate myself, and sing myself”, which indicates an internal monologue about the author’s life. An internal monologue can also be described by a verbal stream of consciousness or verbal thinking with oneself. Whitman wrote this work in the first person, which the reader discovers at the beginning. The poem starts in the middle of the author’s life – “I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin” – and tells his “life story”. The author explicitly describes his own idea about the self and the relation to other selves in a free poetic form. Furthermore, Whitman explores his relationship with the universe, especially his relation to nature.
The author uses symbols throughout the poem to describe specific activities, persons, and items. Houses and rooms are symbols for societies or civilizations in this world, while perfumes represent persons in the narrator’s life. Whitman tries to find his own self throughout this spiritual journey. The author incorporates experiences and ideas of his own life to explain his understanding of the universe. He tries to merge his own self with the cosmic self, while he wants to keep his individual mindset. “Re-examine all that you have been told; dismiss that which insults your soul (Whitman).
It is very difficult to fully understand and comprehend the poem, because Whitman constantly changes topics throughout the work. All things considered the author invites his soul to a spiritual journey and to celebrate himself and his life. Whitman manifests his love for the nature and the beauteous objects in life. The mindset of the author suggests that everything is good in existence and nothing is necessarily bad if it contributes to a larger good. As many other authors in the time of transcendentalism Whitman believes that death is a fortunate thing. Reading and reflecting the passages of death in this poem, Whitman takes away the fear of death. He suggests that we all should have more faith in the order of nature, so we can ultimately better understand the reason of death.
Personally I think the most important lesson in this poem is that everything and everyone is equal. The concept of equality or equity is still applicable nowadays. Our society is filled with hatred, racism, and discrimination. Moreover, we have forgotten the importance of nature. We do not appreciate our nature and destroy “mother earth” for greed and selfish interests. Furthermore inequality is still dominating many countries around the globe, especially the United States. “Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge that pass all the argument of the earth, And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own, And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own, And that all the men ever born are also my brothers, and the women my sisters and lovers” (Whitman). Giving consideration to this specific paragraph, we can understand and learn the importance of equality in Whitman’s perspective.
The central symbol appears in section 6, when a child appears and asks the narrative an important question (“What is the grass?”). This symbol represents the idea that we should not fear nature nor death. Even though the poet is not able to answer capably in the beginning, he elaborates his process of thinking in further lines and ultimately finds a competent answer. The life-death cycle often raises anxiety and angst in the society. Whitman tries to redirect the thought to the positive – “they are alive and well somewhere, the smallest sprout shows there is really no death, and if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest is, and ceas’d the moment life appear’d” (Whitman).
The corse essence of the poem is to understand universalism. “Love the earth and sun and animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to other; and your very fish shall be a great poem” (Whitman). In understanding the universe, the nature, and ultimately the death we can live life positively and fully. In participating in Whitman’s spiritual first-person journey, we can learn those lessons in a poetic way.
The author also claims symbolically that there is an invisible connection. All existing things in the universe (nature, people, stars, etc.) share an existing connection and hence have the obligation to treat everything fairly and equally. Furthermore Whitman states that we all have a predetermined path. “Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself. It is not far, it is within reach, Perhaps you have been on it since you were born and did not know, Perhaps it is everywhere on water and on land. Shoulder your duds dear son, and I will mine, and let us hasten forth, Wonderful cities and free nations we shall fetch as we go” (Whitman). The author points out that nobody is able to decide for you, neither can anyone walk through life for you. We all have the obligation and possibility to find our own way and to decide with direction we shall travel.
Personally, I have learned an essential and consequential lesson from reading and reflecting this poem. Whitman was an astonishing and influential personality, who amazed me with his writing style as well as with his intellect. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you” (Whitman). Positivity, creativity, and willingness will ultimately lead us to our destiny. I re-learned the importance of nature and all its facets. The silhouettes of the universe and ourselves are connected deeply and we have to understand those factors to comprehend and understand life fully.