Walt Whitman Song Of Myself

Walt Whitman was a man ahead of his time in the 1880s. He was a adventurous poet who loved to be outdoors and try new things. Whitman's ability to be others and to feel their experiences is remarkable especially in his day and age. Whitman expounds to be the poet of the people, combining and becoming each new person and each new experience, celebrating his experiences and expressing joy and heroism. He shows this through his realistic poems that he writes such as the famous “Song of Myself”. In one passage of “Song of Myself” Whitman list all the trades people and and their jobs. This is one of his ideas meaning that everybody means something and without the tradesmen America would not be America. He writes “...the varied carols i hear, …show more content…
He uses this to explain how these people felt when they were on the ship getting washed over board. “ I understand the large hearts of heroes, … How he knuckled tight and gave not back an inch, and was faithful of days and faithful nights,” (Whitman lines 1-5 316). This part of Whitman is similar to the workers of america but is more a personal connection about the soldiers and the slaves of the times. He gives a little more imagery and sense of what it was truly like to be in these peoples places. As he describes the slave treatment and a glimpse into what they went through on the daily you really get to understand how hard it was. He claims “ I am the hounded slave, I wince at the bite of the dogs, Hell and despair are upon me, crack and crack the marksmen” (Whitman lines 16-17). Walt gives details about wincing when the dog bites him to show how painful it is and how desperate the slaves were. “ I clutch the rails of the fence my gore dribs, thinned with ooze of my skin. (Whitman line 19, 317). He goes on to talk about the service members and heros of america fighting like the soldiers or the firefighters saving lives. Whitman fuses and becomes an actually firefighters going into a smoke and fire filled house. “ I am there mash'd fireman with breast-bone broken , Tumbling walls buried me in their debris, Heat and Smoke i inspired, I heard the yelling shouts …show more content…
Whitman's ability to be others and to feel their experiences is remarkable especially in his day and age. Whitman expounds to be the poet of the people, combining and becoming each new person and each new experience, celebrating his experiences and expressing joy and American