Post a response to these questions here:
Questions on "Song of Myself"
1. Who is this poet and what happens to him? Also consider in stanza #5, what is happening to the poet's body and soul. What wisdom comes from this transformation?
2. His subject matter: what does it include? What seems most important.
3. The form: grass as symbol. What other characteristics of the form of the poem do you see as unusual (and romantic?)?
4. The reader: promises and projection. Also consider what relationship the poet establishes initially with "you," his reader? What sort of person does he seem to be? What does he reject and what does he embrace? What promises does he make?
Consider the stylistic characteristics of the poem: the catalogues (such as #15); the repetitions of syntactic structures; the frequent participial verbs (-ing endings); any others that strike you. Perhaps more than any other writer, Whitman subscribed to the organic theory of writing: that the style must be organically part of the meaning (not imposed mechanically in any way). Think about how any of these stylistic characteristics are essential to his meaning.
By the end of the poem, where is Whitman in regard to the reader? How has the "I" changed in the poem through its experiences? How is the reader supposed to finally understand the "I"?
1. The poet is Walt Whitman. He's out in the grass with somebody else, I think they're getting it on, and he starts seeing all these images, and through these, gains not necessarily knowledge but acceptance and peace of mind.
ReplyDelete2. His subject matter is heavy on nature, but also of images from human life: a market place, a runaway slave, etc.
3. Grass is an interesting symbol because it seems to be utterly mundane. Grass is just about as abundant as one gets.
The most interesting thing about this work, considering the time period, is his use of free verse. In this way it is very reminiscent of Allen Ginsberg.
4. Whitman brings you in by seemingly accepting you through his language, making the reader a part of his work. The person he is addressing could be any one of us, as they possess traits that we all do. He rejects traditional beliefs and accepts all that is free and loving.
1. The poet, Walt Whitman, is a man who examines the world around him. In stanza 5, he is realizing that he has all that he needs and that the world is a beautiful place. In this, he seemingly finds peace for himself.
ReplyDelete2. His subject matter encompasses a broad scope of topics, mostly images from everyday life. However, his most significant topic is nature and its relationship with humans.
3. Using grass as a symbol emphasizes the importance he places on nature. Also, because he is in the grass with his lover, the grass takes on a more romantic meaning as well. In addition, Whitman's poems are more free-flowing than those of his contemporaries and do not follow a specific form.
4. Whitman addresses the reader directly, establishing a seemingly more intimate connection between poet and reader. The "you" being spoken to in the poem is the common man, a person who rejects the evils of the world and appreciates the beauty in nature, as Whitman does.
What Daniel said.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding.
1. WALT WHITMAN. He's being natury and accepting nature and the world and himself. Transcendentalist stuff.
2. NATURE NATURE NATURE. And God and humanity.
3. Uhhhhh grass grows everywhere. Its in my backyard and its in his poem. Seeing that all of this poem is nature driven, I'd say grass is just a connection to what he loves, which is nature. I'd say his poem is unusual because there aren't any patterns aside from the subject. Its free-verse.
4. Whitman does not reject anything in this poem, at least I didn't catch it, but you know, I'm slow. He accepts nature and humanity and establishes a connection with it.
This is Sara Dill.
ReplyDelete1) The poet is Walt Whitman. Throughout "Song of Myself" Whitman gains understanding of the world he lives in and explores his different ideas about politics, religion, sexuality, animals and also living life to it's fullest.
In stanza five Whitman understands his soul and how he feels at one with it, he is calmed by understanding love, religion (the union with god) and the feeling of connection with other humans.
2)Whitman's involves many subjects into his writing involving: nature, sexuality, politics (slavery/abolition), and religion. This poem mostly relates to human ideas and feelings and encompasses the exploration of many topics that readers might be confused or have questions about.
3)Whitman uses grass as a symbol: The abundance and quick growing nature of grass is compared to the circle of life. "Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the
vegetation." He also shows how grass breaks every boundary in nature, unlike humans it doesn't conform to the rules and spread and unites objects and makes them beautiful. "Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones"
Unusual: The variety of topics that are discussed. The form and meter of the poem. The style and tone used.
Romantic: poet understands love, beauty of it. Sexuality. Kinship- human relationships.
4) The poet seems very laid back and seems to appreciate nature and the whole world in a way that it is hard to understand. He draws the reader in through his questions, and understanding that he comes to himself as a writer that makes the reader feel like they are understanding his thought process.
Whitman rejects rules and set traditions and expectations. He embraces a world where he is at one with his spirit and nature.
At the end "I" is used to make the reader more comfortable with Whitman as he becomes more comfortable giving his own personal experience and ideas. The readers become comfortable as Whitman starts becoming more free with his emotions over life, nature, beauty, sexuality etc
1. In stanza 5, Whitman dwells on the continuity and vastness of life, and is aware of his connection with all of nature. While clearly emphasizing his own individual soul (The poem is called Song of MYSELF, after all), Whitman still recognizes that he, the world, and its life forms are all part of the same larger picture.
ReplyDelete2. Whitman's subject matter primarily focuses on humans' relationship to the natural world. He includes some spirituality with references to God, and tosses in some remarks about slavery that probably would have been controversial at the time this was written.
3. The grass represents a vast, all-encompassing, constantly regenerating life. His style in unusual in that his poetry has no rhyme or meter schemes, or really any stylistic constraints at all. Whitman completely embraces free verse.
4. Whitman's use of "you" creates an immediate personal connection with his readers, but his "you" expands to include humanity as a whole. Whitman is a person who is ready to celebrate humanity and the wonders of the world. He requires nothing but the environment and traits he was given. Whitman commands his readers not to "take things at second or third hand," or even listen to the poet himself. He does not force ideas upon his readers, but invites them to celebrate themselves as he does.
At the end of the poem, Whitman's "I" represents a larger part of humanity--a part that lives and dies as everything else. The "I" has changed from an assertion of individuality to an acceptance of his role as a component of a larger universe.
1. The poet is Walt Whitman. Whitman is trancedentalist and has accepted all parts life and religion and the wolrd.
ReplyDelete2. He writes about nature and religion a lot. He writes how simple yet wonderful animals are. He also writes about God and how he is everywhere and everything.
3. The image of grass only reflects his love of nature and the natural beuaty of the world. In his poem he has romantic relations while in the grass.
4. Whitman uses the pronoun you a lot adressing the open audience and pulling them in. Since he seems to accept all paths of life it is almost as though he is accepting you.
1.The poet is Walt Whitman. Whitman is a poet who tries to examine the world that surrounds him, through his transcendentalist views. In stanza 5 Whitman accepts what life has to offer him as well as through religion and nature.
ReplyDelete2.Whitman writes about nature and the affects they have upon him and others. He also focuses on religion and all different kinds. He focuses upon God and the impact he has on many different people and their lives.
3. When Whitman uses grass as a symbol he is showing the emphases he wants placed upon nature in his writings. It also shows the connection he has with nature and the connections he wants to make to nature through his writing.
4. Whitman writings pull the reader in, and make connections. He uses pronouns to address an audience, he is writing to everyone. Not just to a certain group of people, his writings are inclusive to everyone. His accepting life style helps the reader feel accepted.
hi its meredith g, imagine that i found the blog!
ReplyDelete1. WALT WHITMAN hes a poet and hes a transcendentalist. hes very nature oriented and into the spiritual world, as humans belonging to a larger world. Stanza 5 relates god and his deeper connection.
2. his subject matter: nature, symbolic descriptions,deptictions of the feelings surrounding certain events (through imagery)
3. grass can represent something universal, it is everywhere and there is so much of it and it remains simple, yet its such a complex blade on its own. i like the anaphora, it brings things together.
4.Whitman is accepting of all people but will still bring out certain societal flaws (like slavery). He does not seem to write towards any certain audience, just a single being.
1. Walt Whitman explores individuality in the sense that he promotes the individual ( after all, the poem is called Song of Myself) but not at the expense of a larger consciousness or thought. He often connects humans to each other, and to the natural world, showing how we are all intertwined.
ReplyDelete2. Whitman is really into nature. Although at first that seems like his only theme, he often uses it to tie into larger themes of humanity and how God relates to the goings-on of Earth.
3. Grass as a symbol can be interpreted many different ways. it can be seen as this simple things, which grows virtually everywhere. But it is also resilient, and keeps popping up, even when people try to destroy it. Each blade makes up the whole, but they maintain their individuality all the same. In this way, WHitman is analogizing people, and humanity as a whole.
4. Whitman refers to his readers directly, setting them at ease, especially in the contrast to the other, more strict verse of the times. It feels more like a conversation with old friends. He also approaches issues that seem unapproachable, like slavery, and yet makes it seem okay.
Thank you, Meredith! Thank you, Erin! Thank you, Medina! And all you other regulars...
ReplyDeleteWhere are the rest of you?
ReplyDelete1. Whitman is discovering the beauty and possibilities of nature throughout the beginning of the poem. He tells us that he is "mad for it to be in contact" with him [2]. Slowly, as he draws us deeper into his philosophy, he begins to link the body and soul to the surrounding world. In his eyes, there is no line between them.
ReplyDelete2. He tends to start out with a single thought, usually pertaining to nature/human nature, and then develops that idea into a train of thought that keeps going and going...
3. Walt Whitman uses grass as a symbol because it's universal and easy to connect to.
Stanza 26 caught my eye because Whitman switched from constantly describing how things appear to how they sound. "I hear the sound I love, the sound of the human voice, I hear all sounds running together, combined, fused or following,
Sounds of the city and sounds out of the city, sounds of the day and night"
I also loved the last line. One of the most romantic parts of the poem. "I stop somewhere waiting for you."
4. I feel as though there are some pretenses in the poem. At points, Whitman gives us false hopes about the world. We begin to believe that our lives have deeper meaning than they really do. The way the poem is written seems to put a silver lining on mundane things and there are times when the language unnecessarily brightens points. That's just how I see it.
But don't get me wrong, it's still great.
1. The poet is Walt Whitman. Whitman is a transcendentalist writer and throughout his poem, Song of Myself, he uses those views to explore humans and their connections through nature, god, intimacy/sexuality, and general spirituality.
ReplyDelete2. Whitman's writing focuses on humans and their relations with their surroundings, whether physical (nature), emotional (other humans), or spiritual (God).
3. Whitman's use of grass symbolized the simplicity and constant in nature throughout the world, yet how it is part of a more complex whole. It shows his love for nature and everything connected to it. One characteristic of the poem that i find interesting is Whitman's many different stanzas and how they are connected and flow together even though they are each different from the next.
4. Whitman's writing pulls the reader in to a point where they feel on the same level as him through his use of the pronoun "you". It helps the reader connect with him, whereas that is more difficult through more proper forms of writing. Whitmans is very accepting of everything and anything natural, whether it's a physical or emotional thing. His writing is very much about letting things flow in their natural way and loving merely being.
1. The Poet is Walt Whitman. He is a transcendentalist who fouses on examining the world around him. In stanza 5 the poet becomes at peace with the world around him. He realizes that he should be happy with his place on earth and accept it.
ReplyDelete2. Being a Transcendentalist Whitman focuses largely on his surroundings and primarily humans relationship with nature. He also focuses largely on a higher power and religion.
3. Grass is a very interesting symbol. It doesn't seem like it could have a significant underlying meaning but somehow Whitman succeeds in giving it just this. First of all grass as a symbol shows his focus on nature and it also shows his admiration for such simple beauty, which may lead into its more romantic side with his lover and such.
4. When Whitman uses "you" ultimatley he is making a personal connection with each reader. The reader could be anyone and the focus on nature really helps with the connection. Everyone is in contact with some natural element in this world and seeing a common connection with the reader's own life draws them in and promises them something they will understand.
1. Walt Whitman is the poet and during the process of the poem, he does little more than sit in the grass in the shade on a pleasant day. While in the position of repose, he considers the weight and value of existence.
ReplyDelete2. Whitman's subject matter tended to be the greater importance of things like the human form and all the energies it contains. He also talked a lot about different layers to the deity idea, breaking down religion to a core belief in spirituality and humanity.
3. His literal enfatuation with the human form is one such characterization of the true romanticism of Whitman. One could say it was a by-product of his all inclusive sexuality, but I believe it to be something inherant beyond such a superficial level. The man was a powerhouse when it came to blind romanticism, and even beyond the human form, Whitman completely distorted the universe and god to make them fit in a poem about himself.
4. The connection to the reader is meant to set the tone of the entire piece. Even a writer as accomplished and renowned as Whitman can't write a poem about sitting on the grass and thinking about the universe without engaging his audience. Doing so would quickly ensure his lack of audience. So like an sensible artist, Whitman had to put the reader in a position of self-centered inclusiveness. The true transendentalist in Whitman would probably quail at such a statement, but every artist must eat, and having an audience is a good way to ensure that much.
Whitman himself seems like a nice enough fellow, despite the tendency towards long winded self-narration. His ability to find the transendant value in everything would grow tiresome in conversation, but one would not want to mention such things because of the proximity to his rifle. For a man so caught up in himself, Whitman does make a lot out of "living to the fullest", a trait he fervently recommends to his readers. I for one would not really enjoy the company of Whitman for any real period of time. However enjoyable his works may be, I feel like his overall views of life make him into what would be considered a mid nineteenth century hippy.
1. The poet is Walt Whitman, of course. IN this poem, he is pondering on all of the world around him. He is very carefree and at ease with himself because he believes that everything is as it should be, that he is content, and that his world is perfect.
ReplyDelete2. He is very focused on nature. But, rather than strictly the "nature" composed of plants, earth, sky, and the like, Whitman is focusing on the nature of how things flow in the world. He also deeply expresses his love for these different natures, and everything that is included in them, such as the people and animals. He seems to focus on the sort of free form of the human soul, in a way, as well.
3. Whitman uses grass in multiple ways. Grass is always dying and growing in a cycle. It is also included in a larger cycle of life. (The circle of life, if you will humor me.) He uses this in a sort of allusion to reincarnation and his believe in it. Grass is also a hugely recognized factor in nature, which is yet another focus in Whitman's poem. Going back to the Circle of Life idea, grass is connected to animals like horses, which Whitman expresses an adoration for. The very last section includes grass and it connects again to the sort of cycle of life theme, as he mentions that if the reader wants to find him, just look at the grass under their soles. In that time period, it was unusual to use free verse, the style that Whitman has used and mastered.
4. Whitman talks to the reader as if he were speaking a close companion, or someone that he trusts to listen and appreciate the things that he will say. It is as if the reader is someone lying in the grass with Whitman as he expresses his views on the world, on the people, and all of his feelings and realizations about himself as well.
Linh Truong
ReplyDelete1. The poet is Walt Whitman. In this poem the body and soul becomes entangled with the rest of the world. He blurs the line between himself and the world. He sets himself free to accept the natural world and the peace that comes along with it.
2. He writes about nature and life and their connection with each other.
3. The grass represents life. I find it interesting that he compares a child with grass growing among black and white folks. They are all the same, all beautiful. Like humans the grass dies and grows back. His tone and the way he writes in free verse is very interesting.
4. He seems to be a very accepting person. He looks around at his surroundings and he accepts it for what it is. Some of his approches are very subtle.
1. The poet is Whitman. He begins to truly enjoy nature with this poem. He fazes in and out between being himself and being part of the world. In the 5th stanza, his soul is doing just that. It is jumping back and fourth between life and nature.
ReplyDelete2. His subject matter is the purity of nature, and using the purity of nature, he accents the coarseness of human beings outside of nature.
3. The grass is used as a mundane object, and helps to point out simultaneous averageness and beauty of things like grass. It also could represent reincarnation on a large and easily observable scale. Lastly, grass covers a lot, and so it can represent life itself, which is seemingly encompassing.
4. Whitman accepts everybody, and loves everybody, and understands everybody. It gives him a strong connection to the reader, and helps define the relationship, if given reader is also understanding of Whitman.
(Unnumbered): The reader is meant to feel very close to Whitman, and to be able to understand "I" by seeing things through the eyes of the author, who molded his vision to fit all who see through it.
1. The poet is walt Whitman. In this poem he diplays the relationship between people, while in nature. Walt Whitman shows realization and peace of mind in this poem.
ReplyDelete2.the subject in this poem is human relationship and interaction in nature. Knowledge can be obtained through nature and I think the poet is trying to get the importance out to the world.
3. Grass as a symbol in the poem represents the ability of humans to grow everywhere, just as grass does.
4. Walt Whitman embraces natural ways of life, and the circle of life. He uses nature to connect to the average person in an easier way for them to interpret.
(late, I suppose. why? computer is so to say..."sick")
ReplyDelete1. The poet is Walt Whitman, a transcendentalist, who is at peace with himself and is examining his surroundings. Stanza number five is where Whitman finds peace and tranquility within himself and with the surrounding world.
2. Being that he is a transcendentalist, his subject matter is mostly nature. He finds all peace within it and makes connections to the human condition, or in other words he ties nature to human beings. In a nutshell it’s humans and nature.
3. Some very unusual things about Whitman’s poetry include his use of free verse (breaking away from quatrains and the sonnet). He in a sense really rejects the whole idea of rhyming and shows that poetry can be well written in the absence of patterns. The usage of the symbol grass in his poem is extremely important. He realizes that grass is everywhere and it surrounds us. Whitman really stresses that we can’t escape nature, even though we may attempt to and that nature really is a part of us.
4. Whitman seems to be a very understanding person. He embraces diversity and accepts everybody’s flaws and perfections. In his poetry he doesn’t try to discriminate. When he makes a connection between nature and human beings he really encompasses every single human being. He doesn’t pick and choose, when he says humans he means all humans. He builds a relationship with the reader.
Walt Whitman writes "Song of Myself." Does he merely rant about how awesome he is? No, although he probably should. Instead, he writes about his unity with nature, and how he feels absorbed into the world around him.
ReplyDeleteHe focuses mainly on the natural aspect of his world. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Whitman feels that the most important influence on a poet in nature: after all, it does create us, destroy us, and do everything in between these two spectrums.
Whitman’s entire poem is very flowing, and almost at times a bit pretentious. Maybe it’s just me; that seems like a more reasonable alternative.
He writes the poem and addresses the reader so that his audience can relate more to what he has to say. It helps us to connect with the seemingly abstract ideas he mentions, but when I the reader feel included with his harmony, it makes me feel the same unity he feels.
Walt Whitman’s style is not like any other I have read. I have read poems of rhymes, patterns, stanzas and everything else. This epic poem is not mechanical in the very least; for if it was, it would defeat the entire message of the poem! How could he praise the unpredictable beauty of nature, and write in a perfectly uniform pattern?
It seems that Whitman has come back to the field has was lying in at the very beginning of the poem, which symbolizes a return to the everyday life most people live? He encourages us to take a personal journey as he did, and attempt to become at piece with the natural world surrounding us.
1. The poet is Walt Whitman. In "Song of Myself" Whitman, a transcendentalist writer, explores himself and his surrounding world. He expands on his beliefs in nature while discovering beliefs in himself. The author gains the wisdom of self-satisfaction through physical, mental, and sexual discovery. He experiences peace and tranquility with himself.
ReplyDelete2. Being a transcendentalist writer, the subject matter is focused around nature. However it also focuses on self discovery and and self-satisfaction.
3. Using grass as a symbol emphasizes the importance of nature and simplicity. He uses something so ordinary and overlooked in everyday life to focus on the extraordinary in the little details. His use of free verse form is unusual as well as the array of topics he discusses.
4. Whitman uses simple ideas in nature to connect with the reader. He uses ideas everyone can easily relate to as well as referring to "you" repeatedly. He seems to reject more traditional formality for a more welcoming appeal.
At the end the "I" is Whitman trying to connect with the audience and embody "the common man."