Summary and Analysis: Song of Myself”” Introduction

This poem had no title in the first (1855) edition of Leaves of Grass. In 1856 it was called “A Poem of
Walt Whitman, an American” and in 1860 it was simply termed “Walt Whitman.” Whitman changed
the title to “Song of Myself” in 1881. The changes in the title are significant in indicating the growth
of the meaning of the poem.

There are three important themes: the idea of the self, the identification of the self with other
selves, and the poet’s relationship with the elements of nature and the universe. Houses and rooms
represent civilization; perfumes signify individual selves; and the atmosphere symbolizes the
universal self. The self is conceived of as a spiritual entity which remains relatively permanent in and
through the changing flux of ideas and experiences which constitute its conscious life. The self
comprises ideas, experiences, psychological states, and spiritual insights. The concept of self is the
most significant aspect of Whitman’s mind and art.

To Whitman, the self is both individual and universal. Man has an individual self, whereas the world,
or cosmos, has a universal or cosmic self. The poet wishes to maintain the identity of his individual
self, and yet he desires to merge it with the universal self, which involves the identification of the
poet’s self with mankind and the mystical union of the poet with God, the Absolute Self. Sexual
union is a figurative anticipation of spiritual union. Thus the poet’s ecstasy is both physical and
spiritual, and he develops a sense of loving brotherhood with God and with all mankind. Even the
most commonplace objects, such as Leaves, ants, and stones, contain the infinite universe.

“Song of Myself’ is a good example of the stylistic features of Leaves of Grass. Whitman’s style
reflects his individualism. He once wrote to Horace Traubel, his biographer: “I sometimes think the
Leaves is only a language experiment.” Words, for Whitman, have both a “natural” and a “spiritual”
significance. Colloquial words unite the natural with the spiritual, and therefore he uses many
colloquial expressions. He is also fond of using foreign words. The catalogue is another special
characteristic of Whitman’s poetic technique. He uses numerous images, usually drawn from nature,
to suggest and heighten the impression of a poetic idea. These images appear to have no clear
organization; yet, in effect, they have a basic underlying unity, usually involving a spiritual concept,
which gives meaning and coherence to the apparently disconnected images or scenes.

Sections 1,2 and 5

This poem celebrates the poet’s self, but, while the “I” is the poet himself, it is, at the same time,
universalized. The poet will “sing myself,” but “what I assume you shall assume,/For every atom
belonging to me as good belongs to you.” The poet loafs on the grass and invites his soul to appear.
He relates that he was “form’d from this soil,” for he was born here, as were his parents,
grandparents and great-grandparents. He is thirty seven years old and “in perfect health.” He hopes
to continue his celebration of self until his death. He will let nature speak without check with original
energy.”

In section 2, the self, asserting its identity, declares its separateness from civilization and its
closeness to nature. “Houses and rooms are full of perfume,” Whitman says. “Perfumes” are
symbols of other individual selves; but outdoors, the earth’s atmosphere denotes the universal self.

The poet is tempted to let himself be submerged by other individual selves, but he is determined to
maintain his individuality.

The poet expresses the joy he feels through his senses. He is enthralled by the ecstasy of his physical
sensations. He can enjoy each of the five senses — tasting, hearing, smelling, touching, and seeing-

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 and even more — the process of breathing, the beating of his heart, and “the feeling of health.” He
invites the reader to “stop this day and night” with him in order to discover “the origin of all poems.”

Section 5 is the poet’s ecstatic revelation of union with his soul. He has a feeling of fraternity and
oneness with God and his fellowmen (“And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my
own/And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own”) and a vision of love (“And . . . a
kelson [an important structural part of a ship] of the creation is love”). This union brings him peace
and joy.

OVERVIEW

“Song of Myself” is a free verse poem by the American writer, journalist, and poet Walt Whitman.
Originally self-published by Whitman himself in 1855, it was considerably revised and expanded over
subsequent decades. In 1889, “Song of Myself” was released in its final form as part of the last
edition of the collection Leaves of Grass. This final version—the version referenced in this guide—is
considered by literary scholars to be the definitive statement of Whitman’s philosophy and poetic
intent.

“Song of Myself” underwent several major structural changes over the years. In its original iteration,
it did not have a title. In the second edition, it was called “Poem of Walt Whitman, an American,”
which was shortened to simply “Walt Whitman” in the third edition. It was not until the 1881 edition
that it acquired the title “Song of Myself,” as well as the section breaks which most modern
publications include. In its final form, the poem is divided into 52 sections, thought to represent the
52 weeks of the year.

While “Song of Myself” received a lukewarm reception at best in Whitman’s lifetime, it is now
recognized by literary scholars as one of the greatest American poems. Reflecting the incredible
diversity of the United States itself, “Song of Myself” shifts easily from personal narrative to reams of
data, from erotic fantasy to musings on religion and morality. Among his many influential works,
including “O Captain! My Captain!,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and “Out of the Cradle Endlessly
Rocking, “Song of Myself” stands out as Whitman’s masterpiece. With this quintessentially American
epic, Whitman changed the landscape of poetry in the United States and beyond.

Poet Biography

Walt Whitman (full name: Walter Whitman Jr.) was born in 1819 in Long Island, New York, to a
working-class family. His father Walter Sr. Was a carpenter; he and Whitman’s mother, Louisa, a
devout American Quaker, instilled a deep love of country in Whitman from a young age. Because of
his family’s itinerant lifestyle and their lower economic class, Whitman was only formally educated
until 11 years of age before he began working.

As a young man in the 1830s, Whitman worked in print shops and as a teacher, though neither
provided lasting fulfillment. In 1838 he started a short-lived newspaper, The Long Islander, and
began publishing short stories and poetry. These efforts saw increased success for Whitman in the
journalism world in the 40s; in 1842 he was hired as an editor and his writing began to be noticed by
the elites of the American literary scene. He also became more politically active in the Democratic

Party and in the newly formed, anti-slavery Free-Soil Party, believing the United States could serve
as a model of democracy for the rest of the world.

Various public and personal disappointments saw Whitman withdraw to a more private life as a
carpenter with his father in the 1850s. There, he worked on his poetry—a collection which would

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 eventually be self-published as the first edition of Leaves of Grass on Independence Day, July 4,
1855. Now considered to be a seminal work of American poetry, Leaves met lukewarm reception in
Whitman’s day, though a few of Whitman’s literary contemporaries recognized its merits (including
Whitman’s literary hero, the American essayist and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson). Whitman
would continue to refine, revise, and expand Leaves over his lifetime. An exciting reprint opportunity
with a major publisher in New York promised new levels of success and renown when, in 1861,
disaster struck. The American Civil War began. Whitman (and his publisher) went bankrupt.

The Civil War was a turning point in Whitman’s personal and professional life. After his brother
George was wounded at the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg, Whitman pulled strings and
leveraged his network (including Emerson) to be employed in the Army Paymaster’s office in
Washington, where he lived for the next 10 years. There he became deeply involved in supporting
soldiers and casualties in army hospitals. Though Whitman was a staunch Unionist, he had deep
compassion for the Confederate soldiers too. The relationships Whitman developed in the hospitals
of Washington inspired his 1865 collection Drum-Taps, considered by many to be the best poetry
produced during the war period. During this time Whitman also met Peter Doyle, an ex-Confederate
soldier turned Unionist who became Whitman’s closest companion. The nature of their relationship
is uncertain. While Doyle’s sexual orientation was known to his family, Whitman never publicly
addressed his orientation, though his poetic voice comfortably inhabited both gay and bisexual
perspectives.

The death of Whitman’s mother Louisa in 1873, combined with his own failing health, set Whitman
on a path of creative and physical decline. He continued revising new editions of Leaves of Grass—
scholars agree that there are six or nine versions, in total—but enjoyed only middling popularity in
his own day. While his more traditional and restrained “O Captain! My Captain!” was much
preferred over “Song of Myself” in America, Whitman found many fans abroad: Oscar Wilde; Alfred,
Lord Tennyson; and Bram Stoker are all counted among his fans. Whitman died in Camden, New
Jersey, in 1892 at the age of 72.

Summary

Section 1

With the famous opening line “I celebrate myself, and sing myself,” Walt Whitman begins his poem
with one of its primary subjects: the idea of self, and by extension, the relationship between the self
(“I”) and everything which is not the self (“you”).

In a moment of leisure (“I lean and loafe”), the poet considers both abstract metaphysical things (his
soul) and mundane physical things (a spear of grass). Every atom of his being (including his tongue)
was formed in America; his family goes back four generations in the States. Healthy at 37 years of
age, he begins his poem, and intends to not stop writing it until he dies. “Creeds and schools” are “in
abeyance”; that is, Whitman has left his preconceived notions at the door, and asks his reader to do
the same. This journey is intended to free all parties from the preconceived notions and artificialities
which prevent human connection.

Section 2

Whitman describes interior spaces “full of perfumes” which he enjoys a great deal. In light of his
musings in Section 1, these “perfumes” may represent peoples’ scholarly debates and
interpretations. Whitman is aware of the power of these fragrances to “intoxicate” him, but he will

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 not allow it. He moves instead to the outdoors where, naked, he enjoys the odourless air, which has
“no taste of distillation” (that is, in contrast to over-processed, manmade fragrances).

Whitman narrows in on the biological process of breathing and what it provides for the body,
“respiration and inspiration.” He is enthralled with his physical self and how his body perceives and
enjoys scenes in nature, even the “belch’d” sound of his own voice on the wind. He invites the
reader to stay and acquire the true origins of poetry with him, rather than relying on opinions taken
“at second or third hand” or mediated through experts and books. If everything goes according to
plan, the reader will be able to stand strong and independent in life, even from Whitman himself.

Section 5

In this controversial section of “Song of Myself,” Whitman addresses his soul directly in the second
person, stating that neither his soul nor his body should be considered less than the other.
Underlining the theme of perfect equality between the two parts of man, he describes his body
having sexual intercourse with his soul. His soul “plunge[s]” its tongue in his heart and reaches to
feel his beard and his feet.

A Biblical conclusion to the section reiterates the unity between Whitman (the self, “I”) and
everything else in creation, from other people to ants and worms to the reader of his poetry (“you”).

Poem Structure

As we’ve already mentioned, this poem is long – somewhere over 70 pages and hundreds of lines.
It’s divided into 52 sections, but those sections aren’t arranged in any regular way. They’re varying
lengths, and they aren’t contained by a regular rhyme or meter. Whitman went back to this poem
later in his life and edited it somewhat, taking out some sections here and there and smoothing
others over. You may find references to more than one edition of the poem in your studies.

Whitman uses poetic techniques to bring unity to what is otherwise a pretty sprawling and free-form
poem. Here are a few key things to remember about the structure of ‘Song of Myself’:

• Free Verse: A poem without a regular rhyme or meter, which feels almost like regular
speech, is said to be written in free verse.
• Long Lines: Excess is one of Whitman’s main characteristics. The lines in ‘Song of Myself’ spill
over the page, sometimes filling up two or three text lines before he takes a break.
• Lists: Whitman loves to use lists to underscore his ideals of universality, as he does in this
excerpt from Section 16:

A farmer, mechanic or artist. . . a gentleman, sailor, lover or Quaker,

A prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician or priest.

• Anaphora: This is a fancy poetry term that basically just means repetition at the beginning of a
line. Whitman uses this device to give some energy to his long poem, keeping the rhythm going
forward. Check out this example from Section 33:
• Over the growing sugar. . . over the cotton plant. . . over the rice in its low moist field;

Over the sharp-peaked farmhouse with its scalloped scum and slender shoots from the gutters.

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