Walt Whitman was an American poet who made a landmark impression in the history of American literature. He was born on May 31,1819 in West Hills, New York and was considered to be one of America’s most influential poets and journalists. Over the course of his lifetime, Whitman had written over three-hundred poems, many of which can be found in his book Leaves of Grass. His poetry made many people respect him because Whitman’s style of writing was greatly different from that of other poets of the time and he made the audience feel more emotionally connected to what they were reading.
Whitman was very creative because he knew how to capture his readers’ attention using his sense of imagery. Some poets had difficulties keeping the readers interested in their works, especially when it is a short poem. Whitman’s poems, however, were detailed enough that they allowed the reader to imagine the story. In his writing, Whitman’s main focus was about individuality, gender/sexuality and nature. Whitman used natural imagery in his poems about nature to convey themes and send virtual messages about individuality and equality/sexuality.
Whitman used the idea of equality to convey his belief that God is the creator of all things and therefore people should all be treated impartially. Whitman used poems to further illustrate his point of view. For example, his poem “Song of Myself” portrays equality and individually well. This poem is the longest poem in Leaves of Grass. In line seven of ‘Song of Myself’ Whitman describes the relationship he had with everything else in the world. Whitman wrote, “I am the poet of the woman the same as the man, and I say it as great to be a woman as to be a man, and I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.” (L.7)
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This poem is a celebration of the human self in its most expanded, spontaneous, and all-embracing state as it observes everything in creation and ranges freely over time and space. The opening lines of the poem prepare the reader for what lied ahead. This included the idea of the identification of someone with others, and the poet’s relationship with the elements of nature. He explained awareness by explaining either no one notices anything or everyone notices. Whitman felt as though he would not be understood as an individual if he was not heard by the world so he portrayed it in his writing to send messages to everyone. This poem reflects Whitman’s style of individualism. He used numerous images, usually drawn from nature, to suggest and heighten the impression of his poetic ideas.
Whitman stated “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” (L.26) These opening lines from ‘Song of Myself’ introduced the ideas of individuality and collectivity that Whitman explored throughout his work. Whitman also brought a sense of equality to the poem without directly addressing that theme. For example, Whitman’s belief in equality is so strong, he dedicates the first lines of this poem to it. “Song of Myself” balances the themes of individuality and equality as two important pieces for his work. Also, Whitman’s passion for democracy is equated with a sexual and erotic passion. Whitman stated, “I am he that walks with the tender and growing night, I call to the earth and sea half-held by the night.” (L. 10)
Whitman was telling his readers that they must not only observe the democratic life but they must become involved with it throughout the entire poem, joining both mysterious and erotic for those that take part in it. Whitman understood very well that democracy was imperfect, which meant it was filled with injustice, self-serving, and undermined facts of an individual. According to Davis Lane from Elizabeth Education, Whitman rejected to talk about the past and future, he wanted an experience in the present, meaning that he wanted to make a point to explain to the reader what is happening now and make it a main focus.
The poem “Song of the Open Road” was based on a lot of metaphors. Metaphors about love, community, and civilization. Whitman wrote this poem wanting to greet the world. By the language of his body, it was revealed that the knowledge of death is in some sense sexual knowledge. Whitman showed himself as a master of these themes in the poem. Whitman connects sex and birth with death throughout this poem. One is in some obscure way the other, the two merged inseparably in the poem. Birth and death are obscurely interlinked, the one inevitably and in a way impossible with no question in the other.
This helps place the use of nature and sending of messages to the audience. The road itself stands for true democracy since it is open to anyone to travel on, regardless of social standing. This is where he displayed equality. As such, he proposed that for an individual to have a fulfilling life in a collective society, each must express his or her own uniqueness whether it meant in life or in death. His aim was suggested as a complex of relations that embraced all the elements and he wanted to imply more.
Furthermore, Whitman wanted to communicate to his readers with his own perceptions of nature, man, and the world and he did just that. He stated “I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go, I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them.” (L.1) This quote involved equality because he explained how he carried everyone with him not just a man or a woman but both. On the other hand, a lot of individuality is throughout the whole poem. He expressed “I think heroic deeds were all conceived in the open air, and all free poems also, I think I could stop here myself and do miracles, I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and whoever beholds me shall like me, I think whoever I see must be happy.” (L.4)
Whitman gave his opinions on what his audience should enjoy while reading, while also explaining what he enjoyed. He loved everyone and everything on this road even the things that were difficult to see. On November 11, 2008 the Shmoop Editorial Team stated that Whitman was not afraid to leave the road if he had to, but he didn’t want to do that. He thought he was going to like everyone he saw on the road, and that everyone he saw would like him. Whitman also displayed individuality when he realized he was the only person who was in complete control of his life and that he got to choose his own destiny.
The final poem that showed individuality and equality is “One’s-Self I Sing”. This poem displayed Whitman’s ideas and style of writing. The poem directly addressed the successive themes in Whitman’s poems. He began by claiming the poem as a lyric poem for a person to read almost like a song for themselves. Whitman after immediately expanded the flow of the poem by applying it to more individuals. Whitman addressed equality by talking about the body, about both men and women, and about life/passion. Though this poem is short, it alluded to the broad scope of ideas that Whitman wanted to explore. Whitman explained that the self is a shared experience between the poet and the reader. Throughout the poem he introduced the theme of gender.
Whitman mostly expressed that he treated men and women equally in his poems. ‘The Female equally with the Male I sing,’ (L.5). According to Kathryn Gundersen from Boghani, A ed, Whitman considered that woman is equal to the man because his view of gender is tied to his definition of the soul. To Whitman, women are just as important as men because despite our physical differences, we are all still human beings. The human body is also a common theme in Whitman’s poetry. It formed the crucial link that connected each individual self to the communal Democratic self. Therefore, in Whitman’s poetry, the human body is sacred and every individual human is divine.
At the same time, the body is inseparably tied to Whitman’s image of the soul. He believed that without the physical body, there was no soul. This was because the human body was like a vessel through where the soul interacted with and experienced the world. All humans are united in their experience of the natural world, for example, when Whitman would write about viewing a sunset the way he would explain how someone sees a sunset made the audience realize and understand that all people share the experience, no matter their gender or age.
Whitman liked to describe his individuality in his work using his body and his soul. Along with his body and soul, his voice played a big role in many of his poems. He wanted to create work that no other poets and journalists had done before. Also, he wanted to teach his audience about the importance of individuality and equality. Whitman did a very good job portraying and explaining the roles of these themes in his writing especially in the poems: “Song of Myself”, “Song of the Open Road”, and “One’s-Self I Sing”. Whitman freely wrote of sexuality/equality and individuality by the body in tones as intimated as those he used to describe the soul.
He searched to transfer his own desires from nature and the community to those that read his work. His audience’s assumptions are simply that every thought that he had, the reader understood as their own. Whitman’s symbolic use of nature was a technique not a lot of poets used. His goal was to suggest a complex of relations and embrace all his elements while implying many more in his writing. He often referred to nature and used it as a primary teacher. It lead to identification of the universe and it became a huge part of him and it is now a part of the universe along with him.
Work Cited
- https://www.biography.com/people/walt-whitman-9530126
- https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/430959-of-equality–as-if-it-harm-d-me-giving-others-the-same
- https://www.gradesaver.com/leaves-of-grass/study-guide/summary-song-of-myself
- https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/46907.html
- https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Leaves-of-Grass/themes/
- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48859/song-of-the-open-road
- https://www.shmoop.com/song-of-the-open-road/section-1-summary.html
- https://www.gradesaver.com/walt-whitman-poems/study-guide/summary-ones-self-i-sing
- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48857/ones-self-i-sing
