Comparison between Whitman and Olson - Essay Example

Response Paper –Whitman/ Olson comparison Poetry has always been an essential source of expressing one’s idealistic views. Normally poetry uses toolslike symbolism imagery etc to define the meaning imparted by the poet. The paper shall compare two classic works where Walt Whitman and Charles Olson reflect the underlying need for a change through a cluster of poems. While both urge towards the need for a revolution, their approaches are distinguishable. Charles Olson’s The Maximus written in the 60s reflects the views of the poet about the world and his surroundings. With every different section of the poem the poet discovers some new vision about the world and this alters the scenario completely and changes our perception about everything gradually. The poem holds two implications juxtaposed but held by a string of tension. The first message is that of a life almost suffocated by the mechanisms working around us and the second message pertains to the innovative commentary that he makes and where he even incorporates himself. (Christensen, 212) He attempts to destroy the trend of life centering on Delphi but also creates a kind of myth and epic out of his vision. For instance in the reading itself the poet talks about the notion of delaying and not being able to respond to situations on a timely basis. For instance if a sailor is always being obedient and cannot take any decisions by him then simple things like crossing a wet deck would involve a hesitation and hence the action would get delayed. He describes himself to be indistinguishable as a Greek in particular because he has been picking up more western habits almost like an American who is usually a compilation of multi cultural practices – “No Greek will be able to discriminate my body. An American is a complex of occasions themselves a geometry of spatial nature” (Olson, 148). At the end of the section of The Maximus in the reading the poet wants the city of Gloucester to change. The poem makes an effort to build the context around the city of Gloucester. The poem itself incorporates the four characteristics of city-states across different cultural backdrops. There is a definite definition of a city, which is usually surrounded by walls and water. A city-state normally thrives to become economically self-dependent and a basic idea about sharing linguistic cultural and historical elements. At last, every polis is governed independently by its self-elected authority. The poet here urges Gloucester to change its rule or polis. The poet urges the readers to change and shed the previous prejudices and beliefs and not to be afraid of protesting (Bollobas, 62). Only this level of awareness might call for a new state. His views are in sync with Plato’s notion of an ideal Republic where people could express their views freely. Hence like a Sophist who taught the Greeks the picture of an ideal state, the poet combines philosophy with oratory, inspirational and profoundness of understanding with some brilliant use of words (Butterick). Butterick also suggests that the poet prefers a pessimistic lifestyle rather than a regular one. Olson’s work emanates truth created by the work of art and it reflects in a unique fashion, the “Being of beings” which open all the hidden truths. (Heidegger, 390) Walt Whitman in his work Leaves of Grass composed in 1855 creates inspiration and provides direction to the readers. This tone is similar to that of Olson who also creates a unique persona ideal in nature to be followed by all. The strong political undertone is related with a sense of democracy where people would be able to think for themselves and one can represent all, that is, all would be treated equally. He teaches the idea of sharing and the philosophy that everything belongs to everybody at the end of the day. The spiritual message sent by Whitman is quite prominent in the book. The narration of the poet seems to identify a procedure of “questioning, searching, and existing in uncertainty is the vital element of spiritual health, as opposed to certainty of the soul’s destination.” (Smith, 228) This theme progressively grows as the book advances in volume. Another important observation about the poem is that the individual spirituality of Whitman is inseparable from the political spirituality, which affects all. Lying at the base of his work is the essence of American democracy, which arouses an “ever-questioning spirit”. Through the section “A Hand-Mirror”, the poet tries to show a man his own reflection or identity. This brings out the way he teaches the reader to view his body, as a base substance ever decaying. Hence in his poem the spirituality gains predominance over the physical. This also brings out the basic truth that the human body is not immortal – “lungs rotting away piecemeal, stomach sour and cankerous, joints rheumatic”(Smith, 159) In the poem “From Song of Myself”, Whitman suggests that one should not take any observation as final rather he should search for a meaning in his own way and hence try to unravel the truth around him. This is when he would be able to perceive the goodness of the environment in which he lives. He also perceives that what he thinks for himself would be applicable to all Americans. In the small poem, which initiates his work, “One’s self I sing”, the poet says “The Female equally with the Male I sing” (Whitman, 155). This indicates the clause of equality irrespective of caste creed and sex as encompassed by the democratic ideologies. Thus Whitman constructs the “cultural, historical, and biographical moments” (Schramm, 24) He claims through his work that American uniqueness was inseparable from the country’s essential principle of self-determination and fairness. Keeping the two works side by side, one might discover an urge towards revolution and change in the tone. Both the poems encompass the hint of democracy, but while Whitman makes it transparent by bringing out the essence of equality and one representing the mass, Olson creates an individual persona in his work where he points out the basic flaws of the system and the need for a change. Clearly the change is towards democracy but he does not mention it as clearly as Whitman. The former centers his poem on Gloucester but the later speaks in a universal tone. Again depending upon the readers’ imagination even the message of Olson might be broadened and the city-state of Gloucester might be taken to represent all other states as well. While Whitman calls for democracy in America where people would be treated equally and one shall stand for the rest, Olson also talks of America as a nation where the person’s identity is not defined by any specific religion or culture but his identity is universal in nature. He off course writes at a time when America’s political structure has been taken as an ideal one to be followed by many nations, which had not yet adopted democracy. While Whitman provokes the reader to question further about the environment one lives in, Olson actually provides definite answer and direction to be followed. He actually prescribes the need for the polis to change but Whitman had shown the urgency for a person to engage in self searching and looking for one’s answers on his own. Therefore in conclusion we might say that both the poets from their stand has done a unique job of inspiring and directing the common people. While one (Olson) works through use of myths and defining of a persona the other (Whitman) entails the spiritual note in his poems where he attempts to destroy all the barriers which tends to create a divide and the physical body in one of them which is describes as rotting and ugly. He focuses rather on the senses and how to please them through simple quest and exploration. Works Cited Christensen, Paul. Charles Olson: Call Him Ishmael. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1975. Heidegger, Martin. Poetry, Language, Thought. New York: Harper & Row, 1971 Butterick, George F. A guide to The Maximus poems of Charles Olson, University of California Press, 1980 Schramm, Geoffrey Saunders. Whitman’s Lifelong Endeavor: Leaves of Grass. Humanities, Jul/Aug2005, 26.4, 24-28 Smith, Ernest. “Restless Explorations”: Whitman’s Evolving Spiritual Vision in Leaves of Grass. Papers on Language & Literature, Summer2007, 43.3, 227-263 Olson, Charles. The Maximus Poems, 1960 Whitman, Walt, Leaves of Grass, 1855. Read More