Chase for September 15th
Walt Whitman, as an author, has a distingushed manner in which he transfers his thoughts and messages into his work. In reading his work, one realizes that Whitman’s challenge as a was consistency. It was as if he simply had so much information to offer and so many ideas he wanted to share with the world that he made sure to include it all in his poem. Because of this, I often get confused and lost when I read his poem. A lot of times I have to stop myself and go back and re-read certain lines or pages even. I’ve realized that “Leaves of Grass” is a book that I’m going to have to read more than once in order to truly understand his writing and the many messages he’s trying to share with the world.
He opens his poem, “Song Of Myself”, with the idea of there being an “I” and a “you”. These two are connected together as Whitman attempts to make us realize an important fact. He wants us to know that no matter what our viewpoints on man kind may be, we as a nation are all connected and are one in the same. It’s ironic but factual how a lot of issues discussed in his poem are still issues present in our world today. Some of the things that have lead to this huge connection we share today are our history, the trials and tribulations our ancestors have faced, everything that happened in the past – good or bad – that have contributed to our present day existence. It is what makes us all who we are and it’s also what makes us all one human race, despite differences in ethical race/background. This is one of the ways in which I can see Whitman in Brooklyn today. Brooklyn, one of the most diverse cities, has a very large group of residents who always exemplify unity when it comes to being loud and proud to represent the city/town that you come from.
Whitman appears to be a person who is quite in tuned with his human sexuality. He describes the human flesh in a manner in which exemplifies appreciation for both the female and the male anatomy. Quite often, it appears as though he may be a bit homosexual yet hesitant to expose himself. Therefore, he not only speaks about the attributes of a man but also that of a woman. This is understandable as I am very sure that homosexuality was not as accepted back then as it is today. Listen carefully as you read; you can almost hear his voice which sounds calming, gentle, and a bit authoritative as well.
“The beard of the young men glistened with wet, it ran from their long hair,
Little streams passed all over their bodies.
An unseen hand passed over their bodies,
It descended trembling from their temple and ribs.”
Having read these few lines, one can easliy tell that this man has somewhat of an intrest in men… It’s either that or he sure has a way with words. If you as me, I think its both!
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September 16th, 2009 at 8:50 am
You’re right about the poem being confusing at times. Whitman was a poet with a lot to say, and squeezed a lot of ideas, images, etc. into his poem. The cool thing is that he knew he was being contradictory at times:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then….I contradict myself;
I am large….I contain multitudes (1313-1315).
Whitman gives himself the space he needs to “squeeze” it all in to his poem, and he admits that there is simply too much there, for coherency to occur all the time.
You make good points/observations about Whitman’s various sections of his poem.
September 17th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Whitman can sometimes difficult to read. His poetry contains so much information from his various life experience, that additional research is needed to really grasp what he wrote. Personally, reading his poetry out loud makes it easier to decipher.From my understanding, Whitman’s sexual preference has never been determined. In numerous lines, Whitman is talking about a man’s beast. Some of the references are sexual in nature so I second you statement regarding his sexual preference. After re-reading this poem in the correct historical context, I am also surprised by the amount of sexual reference he sneaks into the poem.