1. Write a text analysis of the initial excerpt of “Song of Myself” from the beginning until “the song / of me rising from bed and meeting the sun."
2. Consider the interpretative hesitation of the part that begins, “A child said, ‘What is the Grass?’ and consider if this “poetics of doubt and speculation” has similar instances in Huck’s narration or if, on the contrary, there is a pragmatism that forebears more far-fetched comparison.
Walt Whitman, retouched picture for the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass.
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Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” is a celebration of individuality and interconnectedness of everything in the world. It is written in free verse and will further be analyzed for literary devices.
The poem starts with “I” and capitalized “CELEBRATE,” which is quite a popular expression usually followed by “life” or something abstract. However, it is very unexpected to see a combination of “I CELEBRATE myself,” which sounds self-affirming and imposing. From the modern perspective it can be linked to the general idea that Americans put themselves before others and are sure that their point of view matters. The capitalization of the second word gives it additional emphasis and could be seen as an act of author’s emotional liberation. The second line, “And what I assume you shall assume” continues the idea of domination, because “I” contrasts “you” and outweighs it. However, later we discover that this “I” is both personal and universal, and ultimately encourages self-discovery.
The third line has another intriguing contrast: an abstract term “good” (as a noun) which belongs to “you,” and a scientific term “atom,” which belongs to “me.” There are other scientific terms in the poem, such as “distillation,” “intoxicate,” “atmosphere” and “odorless,” which are always used for contrast with other abstract or sensation-related words, e.g., “atmosphere is not a perfume, it is odorless.”
Interestingly, the author uses words that refer to all of human’s basic sensations:
1. Sight: “I lean … observing a spear of grass.”
2. Hearing: “echoes, ripples, buzzed whispers,” “the sound of the belched words of my voice.”
3. Smell: “houses and rooms are full of perfumes.”
4. Taste: “the atmosphere … has no taste of the distillation, …. it is in my mouth forever.”
5. Touch: “a few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms.”
All these devices allow readers to FEEL the poem in all possible sensational ways.
Whitman widely uses repetition, e.g., “assume,” “loaf” and “perfumes,” which help the poem gain momentum. Being written in a free verse, the poem does not have a lot of rhymes but has its unique rhythm. The first rhyme is internal and only appears in the third verse: “houses and rooms are full of perfumes.” There are also anaphoras (“I,” “the”) and epiphoras (“it,” “of”).
The poem presents a wide range of types of comparisons: metaphors, e.g., “a spear of summer grass,” negative metaphors (“the atmosphere is not a perfume”), and juxtaposition (“my respiration and inspiration,” “the sniff of green leaves and dry leaves”). In another juxtaposition there is also a not obvious onomatopoeia: “shine and shade on the trees,” where the “sh” sound resembles the rustling of leaves.
In conclusion it can be said that even the initial excerpt of “Song of Myself” is full of various linguistic elements which contribute to a multi-layered and free interpretation of the poem. Its conversational tone invites readers to reflect on their own lives and their place in the universe.
- Anna Holovina
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