Whitman: A Poet of Self

Walt Whitman is considered one of the most prominent and best authors of the western hemisphere. While Emerson divided Self into an active portion and a passive part of the soul, Walt Whitman presented the divisions of: my soul, myself, and the real me (Bloom). This can be seen in almost all of Whitman’s works including his poems “When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d,” “Myself and Mine,” and “One Song, America, Before I Go.” There is a presentation of song in many of these works to relate to the common characteristic of Self that Whitman is most known for. With the way that Whitman is able to present ideas about Self in his works, it is no surprise that he is considered one of the greatest authors of the western hemisphere.

In “One Song, America, Before I Go,” Whitman mentions a song that he will sing for the country and its future. In the poem he says that he is singing not only because of how he feels the country is now but also to the preparation for how great the county will become (Whitman “One”). These are spoken as words of a true patriot. How one feels about their county and government is a huge part one’s personality. The concerns for your country are directly related to how you feel about yourself, that is, if your feelings are of pride in your nation. Whitman said that all people are actually the same person, therefore everyone is a whole (Bloom). This becomes important when talking about the connection to government and people’s feelings for it. If everyone is feeling the same about the government, it creates a strong nation and overall a better world. This feeling of patriotism caused a need for song from the writer, which is one of the main characteristics of the work of Walt Whitman.

“When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d” is one of Walt Whitman’s most important works. It is truly about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, who Whitman thought very highly of and it uses song to relate to the idea of Self. While it is understood that he feels that his death is a tragedy, he states that many animals in woods and even he would sing on behalf of Lincoln’s death (Whitman “When”). One line in particular from this work shows the importance of song to Whitman, “I know if thou wast not gifted to sing, thou would’st surely die…” Associating death with not singing seems a bit strong, but for Whitman this was how he felt. There is a strong relationship between song and the emotions felt by people to create their individual image of self. For this specific poem, the significance of song is related to the feeling of grieving over the death of an important person. Whitman has a lot of connections to government in his works and this is no different. In “One Song, America, Before I Go” it is about patriotism and the future of the county and in this work it is about one of the country’s greatest leaders.

“Myself and Mine” is also a work that displays the characteristics of literature by Whitman because of it concern for the feeling of Self of an individual. In this work the writer says “Let me have my own way” and this statement embodies many of the thoughts that Whitman used in his literature (Whitman “Myself”). A sense of individuality is an important part of being able to have a sense of Self, because the two characteristics are tied together directly. The focus of this poem is how the author feels about the people around him asking about what causes him to feel the way that he does (Whitman “Myself”). But again, this topic relates to the idea that Whitman presented of everyone being the same person. Upon reading the poem originally, it seems that he is quite egotistical, but when one knows the background to Whitman’s style, it is easier to understand that all of the world is actually “him” in the poem. This subject matter is what Whitman most often was concerned with to tell about his personal feelings and the idea of Self that he wanted.

Most all of Walt Whitman’s works share some major characteristics. The subject of most of his poems is the idea of Self and the aspect of how people view themselves. At the time this analysis of a deep personal level of thought was very controversial, but served to create a great contribution to American literature. These works use song as a device to relate the importance of Self as the theme of each poem, which was a style Whitman used quite often. This is what makes Walt Whitman one of the greatest western writers and one of the best at portraying the idea of Self in humans.


Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. "Bloom on Walt Whitman." In Bloom, Harold, ed. Walt Whitman, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=CCVWW001&SingleRecord=True February 23, 2011.

Walt, Whitman. "Leaves of Grass." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. http://www.bartleby.com/142/