Response to "Song of Myself"

[Court]

In Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, I find myself to be very intrigued
by the language he uses. It is not a poem that I am used to reading
because there is very little rhyme and very little clear structure. I
find myself breaking down every line and trying to figure out what he
is trying to get at. The word I would use to describe Whitman in this
poem would definitely be pompous. The title itself shows a hint of
arrogance. In part one, the line that stuck out to me to be the most
arrogant was the first line: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself…” He
starts off the poem with a seemingly strong love for himself. In part
three, his arrogant tone continues: “Knowing the perfect fitness and
equanimity of things, while they discuss I am silent, and go bathe and
admire myself.” Though he keeps a relatively strong tone of
pompousness throughout the first parts of the poem, the tone softens
in part six. He says: “A child said What is the grass? fetching it to
me with full hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what
it is any more than he.” He goes on to make certain “guesses” about
what grass is. This part shows that he does not think of himself as a
person who knows everything. I interpreted it as him saying that just
because he is older than the child does not mean that he knows much
more.
I really focused on parts one, two, three, and six because parts one
through three were so pompous sounding whereas in part six Whitman
sounds almost like a different person.

[Tricia]

For a poem that celebrates the unique and endless combinations of
nature and legacy and how they contribute to human life, it ought to
have a better title than “Song of Myself.” The title of Whitman’s poem
unintentionally misguides readers to thinking the purpose of the poem
is arrogance rather than an appreciation of all human kind. He is
celebrating “the self” in terms of all humans and their unique
combination of nature and legacy that play an important role in the
conundrum that makes all humans similar in origin and biological
aspects, yet completely individual in looks and personality.
The similar qualities of all humans are that all are from the earth “…
every atom of my blood, formed from this soil…” and have parental
legacies, “…born here of parents…from parents.” Yet, the conundrum is
the combination of these two similar qualities that combined to make
up an individual human containing “nature without check and completely
original energy.” Whitman is celebrating the beauty of a natural
process that without question not only forms all as human, but also
all as completely unique and original.
“Song of Myself” is a misleading title because although the poem does
celebrate Whitman, it is not in a pompous or arrogant way. Whitman’s
acknowledgement of himself is used as a vehicle so all readers can
relate the words to themselves in their own personal way. All people
can relate and then stop for a minute and appreciate their own
similarities, differences, and legacies. So maybe everyone can be
arrogant for a moment.

[vsjackson]

The poem “Song of Myself” written by Walt Whitman is a very engaging
work of poetry. I believe that Whitman is celebrating human life and
how it is one with nature. Whitman is observing the world around him
and noticing every detail. He even asks the reader if he has taken the
time to notice his surroundings when he asks: “Have you reckon’d a
thousand acres much? Have you reckon’d the earth much?.” I do not
believe Whitman sounds pompous. I think he is writing about himself as
well as other human beings. He writes: “I am of old and young, of the
foolish as much as the wise.” He is admitting that he does no know
everything and that he can be foolish just like anyone else. He also
says: “A child said What is this grass? Fetching it to me with full

hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more

than he.” He is again admitting that he does know everything and is
curious about nature just like a child. Humans are all part of nature
and we all need to take the time to become one with our surroundings.
We all have questions about the world we live in and should turn to
nature very once in a while to find answers to these questions. I have
never read a poem quite like this one and I find it to be very
intriguing. I really had to think when trying to find the meanings of
the sections, but I found it to be rewarding when I did realize what
Whitman was trying to say.