I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,īorn here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. The poet rejoices with the experience of communing with the universe as described in Section I lines 1-9:įor every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. The poem opens with the celebration of the self.

As one reads through his verses, one is lost in trance through his vivid imagery. His experiment with words is just breath taking. I consider it as one of the greatest poems I’ve read. Whitman demonstrates his individualistic style in “Song of Myself”.

The poet’s pleasure stems both from the physical and the spiritual. His reference to sex is a metaphor for spiritual experience. This means that the poet recognizes his need to associate with others and to commune with God. The poet wants to preserve his own self while fusing with the entire universe. Walt Whitman sees the self as an individual and also as nature or the entire universe. The theory of self is important in Whitman’s work because it is where his intellect and art is reflected. The self includes thoughts, experiences, conscious and subconscious states, and the individual’s spirituality. Another example is his use the perfume which embodies the self of one being lastly, he use the atmosphere to describe the entire self.įor Whitman, the self is regarded as mystical and remains constant throughout life. For example, Whitman’s use of tangible objects such as the houses and the rooms symbolize the society. In Walt Whitman’s poem Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, the poet explores themes of the idea of the self, the recognition of self in relation to other people and the poet’s connection nature and the universe.

Leaves of grass song of myself