“Song of Myself” Section 3 Close Reading Questions

1. Lines 14-15: Who do you think the “talkers” are? (Think of people who talk a lot in public). Whitman says he doesn’t talk about the
beginning or the end, so what/when does he talk about?

2. Lines 16-19: What does it mean? How many times does Whitman write the word “now?” Why does he emphasize this word? How can
“now” have 2 interpretations?

3. Lines 20-21: What does Whitman mean by the “procreant urge of the world?” Do you think he thinks it’s a good thing or a bad thing?
Why?

4. Lines 20-24: How are sex and the “knit of identity” related to “the procreant urge of the world?” What does this mean? How does this urge
knit people together?

5. Line 24: Which is more valuable to Whitman, learned things or experienced things or both? How do you know? What does this mean?

6. Line 25: “Plumb in the uprights” what does it mean? Plumb is a carpentry term, but what does it mean for a person to be upright and
vertical and “braced in the beams?” What would the opposite be?

7. Line 26: In this line, does Whitman use “haughty” with a bad connotation or a good one? Why?

8. Line 27: What do you think is “this mystery?” Why?

9. Line 28: What is the effect of this line? Is it used to distinguish the body from the soul or to unite them? If this is a small (microcosmic)
idea, what might the larger idea be (separation/distinction vs. connection/unity)?

10. Linse 29-30: “Lacks one lacks both” refers to the mind and the body. What does this line mean? What about the unseen and the seen? How
is the effect to the one in line 28?
11. Line 31: What does it mean? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? How do you know?

12. Line 32: This speaks of a secret knowledge that Whitman has. What is his secret knowledge that the “talkers” don’t know? What are the
“talkers” still talking about?

13. Lines 33-34: Some poets (like Donne and Hopkins) thought the soul was more important than the body. In these lines, what is Whitman’s
opinion of the soul and the body? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

14. Lines 36-37: Who do you think the “bed-fellow” could be? What does this bed-fellow leave him? What is the significance of this?

15. Line 38: What is he referring to accepting and realizing?

16. Lines 39-41: Where are people looking? Is this living in “the now” like Whitman talked about? What are people focused on in their petty
lives? What do you think is Whitman’s opinion of this?