Tag Archives: walt whitman

Audrey’s CS for January 22

Posted on by
2

Hi there! If you are reading this, then you must have completed the task of reading Whitman’s longest poem. Congratulations! And if you haven’t read it, feel free to use these questions or thoughts to brainstorm as you read and return to share your own thoughts or responses. 

The title, “I Celebrate Myself” initially comes off as a pretty obvious topic for what the poem is going to be about. I could recall thinking, “how much does this guy have to say about himself that he keeps going for over 40 pages?” However, I was quickly surprised by how much love for both the unknown and the outside world was focused on. Any insecurities he could feel due to his lack of knowledge are romanticized as something to be thoughtful about.  

This began my first true (relevant) questioning about the content of the piece. Does the “I” and “myself” in the title actually refer to Whitman as an individual, or does it represent something else? How could this connect to the previously discussed idea of Whitman being the voice of the people or a representative for America?  

We discussed how Whitman was known for being a voice of the American people. Yet this piece seems to expand to an even broader idea through lines such as “One of the great nation, the nation of many nations—the smallest the same and the largest the same…” (page 23 of the digital archive). Even through short pieces such as “America,” Walt Whitman’s love for the country is evident. However, lines such as these suggest that he has a wider appreciation for nations apart from America. Would he offer his hand as he did in “Song of the Open Road” to someone who wasn’t an American? In this piece, the speaker, perhaps Whitman himself, says “I will not have a single person slighted or left away” (page 25 of the digital archive). 

In a broader sense, do you think Whitman’s statements reflect American patriotism or a more general love for humanity as a whole? Does this connect to the themes Whitman often writes about such as love and nature? Does Whitman seem to value nature as much as if not more than humanity? 

My final statement is another question (surprise!). Do you think this is an ode to Whitman’s love for humanity, self, America, or any other theme; or does this piece have a greater call to action for the reader? The piece ends as the speaker experiences something akin to death (as I interpreted it). There is a sudden influx of ellipses used in this section as if the speaker is slowing down and losing the words to describe what they are. There are now “contradictions” and “barbaric [yawping]” before being “[departed] into air” (page 55/56). We, the readers, or “you” are left with the speaker waiting for “you” after they are gone. Is that truly a celebration of self? Being left to be found with hardly any identity or meaning? 

Thanks for reading all my rambling questions! Obviously since this piece is so long, one can find a different idea to look at every time they read. Even if your thoughts deviate from the questions or thoughts I had, I’d love to hear anything and everything!  

Elisabeth’s CS for January 20th

Posted on by
1

Hello, Whitmaniacs! Having emerged relatively unscathed from our first encounter with Mister Whitman, here are some general conversation contributions:

Having read two reviews of Whitman’s work, one utterly scathing and one glowing, and then reading Whitman’s poetry right after, I’m inclined to say that neither review is entirely correct because while Whitman’s poetry isn’t my favorite, I don’t count it as unreadable. It’s just sort of there. Do you think either of these reviews are accurate and in what ways? Do you think the identities of the authors, one a man and the other a woman, have anything to do with how Whitman’s work revolted/appealed to them?

(May I just say the paragraph “…it is impossible to imagine how any man’s fancy could have conceived such a mass of stupid filth, unless he were possessed of the soul of a sentimental donkey that had died of disappointed love. This poet (?) without wit, but with a certain vagrant wildness, just serves to show the energy which natural imbecility is occasionally capable of under strong excitement” is absolutely hysterical.)

Whitman (very…very liberally…) uses the free verse to its fullest potential. He repeats beginning words or phrases often, follows no particular rhyme scheme, and his line sequences seldom follow a pattern, if ever. I think it’s interesting that his poems deal so much with freedom and the style itself is called free verse. He speaks of everyone from every walk of life, even unto death which he still hails as some sort of freedom. What is your take away from that? Is there something about his conversational style of poetry and free verse that sounds distinctly “American” in tone to you? (To me it kind of does, and not in a derogatory sense.) Or on the other hand is it just patriotic delusion?

And lastly, how do you think it is that Walt Whitman is able to connect so easily with everyone and everything in his poems, particularly Song of the Open Road? Is it his identity? Love for his country? His poems are broad and sweeping, and it’s almost like he’s a conductor and everyone on the open road is some sort of symphony but then he’s also part of that symphony. Does that make sense? I’m especially curious to know what you guys think of this in particular!