An Analysis of Walt Whitmans Song of Myself Essay

An Analysis of Walt Whitmans Song of Myself `Whitman was always asking questions. He believed that lifes goal or cause was a mystery. He was surrounded by people who were drawing distinct lines between right and wrong, rejecting the things in the universe that were not a direct ticket to holiness. Whitman, unlike his contemporaries, embraced the beauty of everything. His mystical perception of the world ushered in the idea that God was to be found in every thing, and that He could never be fully understood. I think that section six of Song of Myself captures Whitmans quest for knowing, and his idea that our perceptions of what is, only scratch the surface. How appropriate that he starts this section with a†¦show more content†¦And as with any created thing, the mark of the creator is somewhere on the object, whether it be a distinct signature, or just that it falls into the style of the creator. I am reminded of Romans 1:20, which says, For since the creation of the world Gods invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made... The next two stanzas offer an innocent view of the grass. Or I guess the grass is itself a child, he postulates. It is the smallest, softest product of the ground, and is closer to its roots than any other growing thing - the produced babe of the vegetation. Then he guesses that maybe the grass is a hieroglyphic, meaning, sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, growing among black folks as among white...I give them the same, I receive them the same. The grass emerges as a non-discriminatory thing. So, if God was detectable in the grass, then this would make him, too, a non-discriminatory God. Societys argument that God had ordained slavery for the black people would not hold water in Whitmans mind. The next guess as to the identity of the grass ushers in the main idea of the poem: that death is not the end of life, but the beginning. He says, And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves. The grass represents this new life that can grow from our death. He approaches the grass in an entirely new light. Realizing howShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Walt Whitmans Leaves Of Grass And Song For Myself1068 Words   |  5 PagesMichelle C. Sipalay Professor Lesley Ginsburg ENGL3350 20 November 2017 Song for Myself, Sung for Others Notable American author Walt Whitman, with his piece Leaves of Grass/Song for Myself, was and continues to be a source of critique. Leaves of Grass was received as a riveting, revolutionary piece that overstepped many spiritual boundaries during the timeframe in which the composition was published. 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