Walt Whitman’s pre-civil war masterpiece, “Song of Myself” is more than just a poem. It is an epic because he goes on a journey and brings the reader along with him. The imagery and message is so incredibly deep and complex that it would take several pages to analytically explain. The most impressive thing about Whitman’s epic is the introduction to varied versions of himself, his use of identification and symbolism as well as his beliefs.
During this journey, the reader gets a chance to learn about his philosophies while getting to know the four versions of Whitman. Whitman speaks using “me” (having goodwill towards everything), “myself” and “I” as well as “my soul”. For instance, there are emotions and facial expressions that burst from “me myself” that are mentioned as though inside of him lives another person. On the other hand, his soul is invited to gaze at the greenery of grass with him. Secondly, in section 16 Whitman uses identification to claim that he is all things both living and nonliving. To go even further, metaphor is used to compare himself to the cosmos in the 24th section. The most profound use of symbolism has to do with the leaves of grass. It is like the pages of a book and also a spear. It is the offspring of other plants and God’s “hankerchief”.
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On a darker side, the grass is also the “beautiful uncut hair of graves”. In this way he insinuates that grass is nourished by the decomposed bodies those who have passed on. Lastly, despite all of the various images painted by his words, Whitman clearly explains his likes and dislikes. Favoritism is shown for the idea that everyone is equal and connected to each other. People would fare better with-confidence and faith in nature’s order. Nature’s order includes death as it is simply a continuation of a life’s journey and nothing to be fearful of. In section 13 it is clear to see that studying books pales in comparison to studying nature.
In summary, this is a long, adventurous and passionate sermon of Whitman’s philosophies about life, love and death. There are various settings in this poem because Whitman travels and the audience travels with him. While he may only be traveling in his mind, the reader can still hear the bustle of the city, footsteps and other lively sounds. The journey through this poem seems quite difficult to comprehend since he employs metaphor, apostrophe, identification and other forms of rhetoric. However during the tour of his world, immersion in every section becomes easy to grasp and digest.
