StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The writer of the present paper "Main Features in Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself" seeks to discuss the features of psychology, symbolism, characterization and theme in Walt Whitman's song of myself. It is apt to say that Song of Myself exhibits a style that is neither immediate nor abstract…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.4% of users find it useful
Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself"

Download file to see previous pages

The manner in which Whitman characterizes his hero makes it clear that he is not referring to one single individual. Instead his hero is the collective spirit of the average American citizen that includes himself. The poet’s characterization of himself, which can be identified in the poem, is borne by two qualities: “first, as common circumstances had made him, as an American of his time; second, as magnified by hope, by joy, by exultation, and by the proud, full sail of his great verse.

” The manner in which Whitman transposes the ‘One’ on the ‘Many’ is an effective psychological device. This notion of claiming through the authorial voice, the voice of the whole community of American people is both novel and challenging. The poem lends itself to other dualities: “the One, construed not as a metaphysical principle of unity embothed in the universe at large but as a psychological principle of unity embothed in a particular mind, and thereafter as a mythic principle of unity and power attributable in principle to every mind.

One, in that sense, is then identified with All, and made to extend subjectively to the outer limit of the universe.”Some of the lines in the poem are quite profound, as in, “There was never may more inception than there is now, Nor any more youth or age than there is now, And will never be any more perfection than there is now, Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.” These lines are subtly subversive to the Biblical perception.. One, in that sense, is then identified with All, and made to extend subjectively to the outer limit of the universe.

” (Donoghue, 2012, p.248) Some of the lines in the poem are quite profound, as in, “There was never may more inception than there is now, Nor any more youth or age than there is now, And will never be any more perfection than there is now, Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.” (lines 31-34) These lines are subtly subversive to the Biblical perception of humanity and human life. To this extent, Song of Myself is a symbol of secular and pragmatic humanism. The secular humanist credentials of the work are further evidenced in the lines “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" (74-75).

We see sharp criticism of the dichotomy of good versus evil that is the lynchpin of the Christian religion. Apart from motifs of pragmatism of this sort, the other recurrent motifs are “the air and the grass, and the celebration of the body, the human voice, the natural world, and the city.” (Genoways, 2005, p.1) The celebration of the seemingly mundane and quotidian is a recurrent theme of the poem. Animals, plants and insects find several references. The author employs geographical and ecological markers are part of ‘his’ identity.

For example, in line 694, section 32 we see “They [animals] bring me tokens of myself . they evince them plainly in their possession" (line 694). The theme of interconnectedness and interdependency of all life forms is best illustrated in Whitman’s allusions to animal life. Though his work preceded Charles Darwin’s publication

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself Research Paper”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1472143-main-features-of-walt-whitman-song-of-myself
(Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself Research Paper)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1472143-main-features-of-walt-whitman-song-of-myself.
“Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself Research Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1472143-main-features-of-walt-whitman-song-of-myself.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Main Features in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself

American Comedy-Drama Film Up in the Air

Furthermore, the film also includes Kevin Renick's titular song ‘Up in the Air'.... This is the song that plays in the closing credits of the film and is about uncertainty, loneliness, and disconnection where career transition is eluded.... ‘Up in the Air' is a melancholy song which also narrates about where one expects his or her life to go.... ‘Angel in the Snow' song by Elliot Smith is also included in the soundtrack of the movie....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Analysis of the American Literature

These are: In Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne's, Transcendentalism in Emerson's writings, Edgar Allan Poe gothic style of poetry, Emily Dickson and walt whitman.... In general, it is clear that Hawthorne uses both sexes to bring out the explicit evil flaws and establish his beliefs to the reader Most short stories written by Nathaniel Hawthorne have characters that are created with either evil features or malice to give the reader a more allegorical meaning....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Walt Whitman, Known as the Poet of Democracy

Given that the American identity forged by Whitman in song of myself is very much based on the historical realities of the time and is distinctly different from the contemporary American identity, any effort to understand the kind of American identity that he constructs in the poem would need to explore the historical context of the poem.... 58-66] As Whitley remarks, “[F]or Whitman to create a unified vision of America within this notion of the self, that vision must consist of discrete individuals, which accounts for the lists of people in song of myself....
8 Pages (2000 words) Book Report/Review

Images of the City in Literature

The main idea of the essay "Images of The City" is that The city becomes a space through which individual consciousness is transcended to integrate identification with the human race as an expression of the strivings that validate the humanity of the individual.... … The city's role has changed in modern times, since cities have become not only the centres of human habitation....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

The varied carol i hear

During the 1830's through the 1850's, differences in social status, such as gender and class, were the main subject matter of all writers.... Each century has introduced us to a myriad of progressively more sophisticated literature through which we can explore many new worlds that we may otherwise not be privy to....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Importance of Information Security

The mesh of links among people, organizations, and governments has made cyberspace a highly complex yet costly entity (whitman, 2003).... This research paper "The Importance of Information Security" discusses the problem of privacy in our everyday life.... Information technology is not entirely a technological issue; it has more to do with the administration of an organization....
14 Pages (3500 words) Research Paper

Knowledge and Information Security Plan

… Viruses16 Spam16Trojan Horses16Spyware16 Phishing17Wire Tapping17SECURITY EDUCATION AND AWARENESS17Methodology17Details18MECHANISMS TO DETECT EFFICACY OF THE PLAN18CONCLUSION19REFERENCES21INTRODUCTIONSecurity of Knowledge and information for a Viruses16 Spam16Trojan Horses16Spyware16 Phishing17Wire Tapping17SECURITY EDUCATION AND AWARENESS17Methodology17Details18MECHANISMS TO DETECT EFFICACY OF THE PLAN18CONCLUSION19REFERENCES21INTRODUCTIONSecurity of Knowledge and information for a particular organization is one of the priorities (Wood, 2000, p....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Literary Analysis of Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun by Whitman

One instance is from “song of myself,” while the other instance is through “Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun.... nbsp;walt whitman wrote a letter to William O'Connor, a self-proclaimed radical in January 1865.... The dependence on music for existence by Whitman is shown through (lines 8-9) “Give me to warble spontaneous songs recluse by myself, for my ears only.... This is the Literary Analysis of “Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun” by whitman....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us