Section 24
In section 24 of the “Song to Myself” Whitman calls himself “a kosmos”. It might seem pretentious at first, but actually, I think he does not mean that he puts himself on a pedestal. What he means is that a man is a great creation. A man is enough. From head to toes, humans are complete and wonderful and there is no need in specific religions or beliefs when all we need is ourselves to achieve everything. I think this is also one of the main ideas of the poem.
In the same 24th Section, Whitman uses a lot of phrases that may seem normal today, but in times when he lived were inappropriate. For example, he writes how voices of prisoners and slaves, thieves and dwarfs run through him. However, it was still long before the slaves became equals with white people. He also writes about copulation and how he is not ashamed by his lust and sexual desires. Today people and publicity are shameless, but in 19th century, the public side of society was modest and strict. And, of course, there are phrase like: “Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am touch'd from, The scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer, This head more than churches, bibles, and all the creeds”. Such words may offend many religions. However, personally I think there is a lot of wisdom in here. Maybe “armpits aroma” is a little strong phrase to compare to a prayer, but overall it shows that he believes in himself and relies on himself only. He is not waiting for miracles to happened, because he creates them himself.
My classmate Saad Alkaltham found Section 24 of the poem “Song to Myself” religiously offensive. Especially in parts where the author describes himself as holy and writes disrespectfully about prayers. As I wrote before, I can see where it can be offensive, but it is justified by the idea of the poem, where Whitman describes a man as a miracle himself.
Section 52
In the final section, we see signs of “here and now”, and I think this is the second important idea of the poem. Whitman shows no regret in death that is coming but a hope for something different, although he does know what yet. However, the last part of the “Song to Myself” is very uplifting and gives an optimistic view on life and afterlife; “Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged, Missing me one place search another, I stop somewhere waiting for you”.
Romanticists had a s0pecial relationship with nature in their works. They took it as a whole together with the spirit. They believed that expressing nature through their poems is important. What differentiates Whitman and Wordsworth is their approach to writing about it. Whitman has a more philosophical and metaphorical way of writing about nature, while Wordsworth uses direct descriptions of nature and sees it in its perfection. “Song for Myself” and “The Solitary Reaper” are good examples of this.
Section 16 and 17
In Sections 16 and 17 Whitman talks a lot about equality and how every person is the same and different in many ways. I think Blake would have agreed with this vision of life and people, as presented in Whitman’s poem. Blake was very active in his political views and he believed in non-slavery and non-racist society.
