Analysis Of Song Of Myself By Walt Whitman

Having a unique voice is the byproduct of a creative mind. This, in and of itself, is a feat that many poets, authors and artists struggle to find on a daily basis, however, there are a select few who have imprinted their voice in history and have created works that were far ahead of their respective times. One such example is a poet by the name of Walt Whitman, whose voice travels and echoes in the American mind as casually as a song plays on the radio. Whitman’s style and inherent ability to capture a moment in words, as if the reader were watching a film or staring at a photograph, is uncanny, and his innate ability to create a scenario in which the reader feels both comfortable and familiar is eerily perfect. By using a humanist perspective, …show more content…
Whitman states that he is not just "the poet of the Body", (422) but "the poet of the Soul." (422) The complexity of the human soul and the way one chooses to view themselves in a theological context is paramount to Whitman’s writing. There is a certain catharsis in “Song of Myself”, in which the narrator creates his bond and relationship with God, and is overcome by a sense of brotherhood. Whitman writes, “I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own/And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own". (90 - 91) This line is a testament to the way Whitman views spirituality and it’s connection to the human form, in which the spiritual is just as relevant to Whitman as the natural and the physical. This idea moves further as Whitman employs the idea of knowledge as a way of questioning one’s own existence and purpose. In one line from “Song of Myself”, a child asks the narrator, "What is the grass?" (99) The narrator is, in a sense, incapable of answering this question but thinks heavily upon it, finding himself thinking that "the grass is itself a child" (103), or "the handkerchief of the Lord." (102) This concept of human knowledge, and never truly knowing anything, is used as a vehicle to show that there is some sort of divine presence in everyday life, that our knowledge is not empirical, but only a product of the things …show more content…
Being a self proclaimed humanist, it is overtly obvious that Whitman sees the truly beautiful nature in all of mankind and in all of the universe, as well. He does not shy from asking the existential questions and does not beg for the answers, only offering the knowledge that he can be certain of and states it confidently. The inherent beauty of Whitman’s poetry is that it does not touch upon one subject, but many, and in doing so, creates a sense of unity and wholeness, bringing the mind, body and spirit together in a perfect harmony. Choosing “Song of Myself” to solely focus on was a very easy and definitive choice, as it showcases the many talents of Whitman, while also extracting the more unique and meaningful themes and ideas that Whitman writes about in many of his poems. It is evident that Walt Whitman was not a poet for a generation, but a poet for human existence. His humanistic approach to writing and ability to connect with the reader on an emotional and psychological level through his words is a gift that has not been seen in many poets. Whitman exemplifies the human condition, appealing to the emotional, nurturing, and nostalgic aspects of the reader 's mind, encapsulating time in a single moment and creating a masterpiece that is nothing short of timeless by using a humanist perspective. There is an inherent psychology that Whitman employs in his writing, one that taps into the human psyche