Whitman "Song of Myself"

[cjrogers]

Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” is a very peculiar poem. I am
used to reading poetry that rhymes and is simple to follow. Whitman’s
poem starts off very confusing. I cannot make the correlation between
lines and therefore I lose the entire meaning of the poem. I do not
understand its relevance and if I just take it for face value, it is
gibberish. I do not know what exactly makes this poetry. He rhymes
perfume with perfume in three lines. It is very confusing and I don’t
understand how anyone is supposed to gain anything out of the poem. If
Whitman is trying to make a point, unless someone can decipher his
jargon, they point is moot. He talks about how he lives his life
without thinking of an end. “I have heard what the talkers were
talking, the talk of the beginning and the end, But I do not talk of
the beginning or the end.” This gives the reader the idea that he just
lives, doesn’t worry about things or becomes consumed with
materialization, he just marvels at natures gifts. In line five,
Whitman says “I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer
grass.” Whitman it the quintessential hippy, he just “keeps on keeping
on” and that message is all well and good, but in my opinion over
preached. He is definitely pompous, as if the title doesn’t give that
away. It is so difficult to try to comprehend the poem line by line,
and I do not understand the point of this interpretive writing.