Whitman is said to be one of the most revolutionary poets in America. He fought for democracy and stood up for the rights of any oppressed or disadvantaged people. In sections throughout “Song of myself”, Whitman reveals his views on democracy through the use of themes and free verse poetry. The time period in which Whitman wrote “Song of myself” free verse poetry was a very new and unique style of writing. Writing in a free verse style allowed Whitman to break out of the conventional style of writing and introduce a more natural form of writing. “Song of myself” is considered to be a combination of biography and sermon. Throughout the entire poem, Whitman switches back and forth between many different themes. By using different themes and free verse poetry Whitman gave the reader hints instead of answers about the nature of the poem. “Song of myself” poem was able to be enjoyed by a much wider audience because of writing in this free verse style. As proposed in the title, “Song of myself” is concerned mainly with Whitman’s experiences. There are also other concerns outside of just Whitman; we get a look into human condition, nature, and the universe. Other major roles throughout “Song of Myself” are individualism and idealism.
Themes are the focus of a story; they hold a story or poem together and give them meaning. They can also help convey a message or help establish a point of view. All parts can be connected, characters, plot, settings, events, etc. “Song of myself” has many different themes throughout the poem. In order to keep and peak readers interest the poem must focus on more than one theme. Throughout the different sections the poem continuously changes themes, which was a very unique and new writing style. If "Song of myself" had not have separated the themes throughout, each section may seem to lack critical information in the development. Many themes are added throughout the poem to express Whitman's views and feelings on certain matters. Good themes must appeal to the reader, but must all appeal to the writer.
One of the central themes in “Song of myself” would be identity. This word occurs multiple times throughout this vast poem. In the beginning of the poem, Whitman talks about celebrating himself. At first we have no idea what he means by this. As the poem progresses Whitman elaborates more on what he means when he wants to celebrate himself. Whitman addresses concepts of self-identity as well as national identity, specific examples of these are shown throughout “Song of myself”. In the first section of the poem Whitman writes, “I celebrate myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my Soul, I lean and loafe at my ease . . . . observing a spear of summer grass” (Section one). What we come to find out is that Whitman’s celebration for himself is actually a celebration for America. Whitman chooses to celebrate identity and reject ideas of division, separation and hierarchy’s. Whitman seemingly has a struggle with his identity, more specifically his soul, in section five. He is picturing a conversation between himself and his soul as they are lying in the grass together. Whitman is trying to get his soul to speak to him, but his soul will not answer in any words that he can understand. “I believe in you my soul . . . . the other I am must not abase itself to you, and you must not be abased to the other. Loafe with me on the grass . . . . loose the stop from your throat, not words, not music or rhyme I want . . . . not custom or lecture, not even the best, only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice” (Section five). Whitman suggests that when a soul descends into a body, only then will it gain its reason to operate in the world. Only when a person’s soul has descended into their body, then do they have an identity. He is suggesting when a body is left soulless; it will have no purpose or identity, and will never have a reason to operate as long as it is left soulless. Whitman believes that his soul is his personal identity and that he is connected with all things in the world.
Another major theme throughout certain passages in “Song of myself” is sexuality. Whitman believes that the body should be celebrated instead of feared, and that sex should not be shamed. Whitman feels that sex or anything to do with it has become a dirty topic in America, due to the Puritan founding’s. He hopes to change peoples ideas and views by writing about sex in a subtle way in “Song of myself”. In section 24, Whitman writes “Through me forbidden voices, Voices of sexes and lusts . . . . voices veiled, and I remove the veil” (Section 24). He was seen as a rebel for writing openly about the topic of sex, this was a completely different theme from any of the other in this time period. Writing about such a risqué topic, caused Whitman to have a lot of critics. Whitman did not directly discuss specific topics of sex directly; instead he is very subtle about it, and uses it as a metaphor in some passages. “The atmosphere is not a perfume . . . . it has no taste of the distillation . . . . it is odorless, It is for my mouth forever . . . . I am in love with it, I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked, I am mad for it to be in contact with me. The smoke of my own breath, Echos, ripples, and buzzed whispers . . . . loveroot, silkthread, crotch and vine, (Section 1)”. This passage from the first section is a good example of how Whitman used sex as a metaphor. There are clear erotic and sexual desires expressed, but there are no specific acts of sex taking place. Despite fighting for sexual freedom for others, Whitman felt the need to repress his own desires Whitman was constantly fighting for sexual equality for both men and woman. “Is this then a touch? . . . . quivering me to a new identity, Flames and ether making a rush for my veins, Depriving me of my best as for a purpose, Unbuttoning my clothes and holding me by the bare waist.” (Section 28). This passage is showing how Whitman ignores his own desires, he felt this energy could be distributed throughout his body and be channeled elsewhere. Many people believed Whitman to be homosexual, but he was more concerned with helping others become sexually free and chose to focus his time on his work.
Whitman’s poetry typically represented the strength and growth of America in the early years. Whitman’s idea of America was a country where all people were equal, all jobs were important, and everyone got along. Whitman viewed everyone as equals and accepted everybody; this is the basis of democracy. He was trying to become the “American voice”, he wanted to speak for and represent everyone. “I am the poet of the Body and I am poet of the soul, I am the poet of the woman the same as the man, in the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass” (Section 21). “Song of myself” was intended to celebrate how diverse the nation had become. An underlying meaning of the poem is essentially a plea to remind Americans of the common bond they have shared. In section six, Whitman discusses grass, which he hopes can become a universal symbol and a representation of equality. Grass is everywhere, which is why Whitman pushes for it to become the official plant of America. “Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic, And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, Growing among black folks as among white, Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same. Whitman had read Ralph Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance” and it made him appreciate American virtue even more. What Whitman had obtained form “Self-Reliance” was not taking orders from others and thinking for yourself. Emerson’s essay inspired parts of “Song of myself”, Whitman perfectly captures the feelings of “Self-Reliance” in section 46 of his poem. “Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself” (Section 46). When the Civil War began, Whitman’s hopes of a unified America were shattered. “Song of myself” was a precursor to the Civil War, Whitman knew something was going to happen and wrote this poem in an attempt to get people to relate to one another. Even after the war was over, Whitman still kept revising his poem in an effort to try and help people relate. Whitman did not stop believing that everyone in America was able to respect and love one another.
“Song of myself” is one of the best representations of the American dream. The poem is very unique for its time and pushed people to be themselves and accept one another. Other than identity and sexuality, “Song of myself” is full of many different themes. Most of these are written as metaphors, and are left up to the reader to decipher. Whitman embraced people of all races, sexuality, gender, and beliefs. Whitman spent almost his entire life trying to unify people through his poetry. The gift Whitman left for the world is his poetry. He attempted to make his poems universal, in an attempt that they would be read in the future. “Song of myself” is the embodiment of the American dream; it is very free and is full of personality.