Whitman's Poem - the Song of Myself

Whitman's poem The Song of Myself is one of his most famous pieces. This piece is a combination of a biography and a sermon. The Song of Myself is a really strong piece. It really shows emotion and intelligence throughout his writing. Whitman has a way of really drawing the reader's attention in. He is so descriptive and goes into detail when explaining different experiences he went through.

Starting his poem with the line "I CELEBRATE myself; / And what I assume you shall assume;" is a strong start. It shows that this poem is about Walt Whitman himself. From the beginning he is trying to prove that what he experienced you should believe is true. I believe that this is the way of Whitman expressing that what he sees from these experiences, we should also see.

One part in the poem that was really striking to me was when he said "The smoke of my own breath; / Echoes, ripples, buzz'd whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine; / My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs;" This section shows his experiences through all five senses; see, smell, hear, taste and touch. More importantly it put us through the breathing and racing of his heart. The author really makes me feel like I am there, like I am living through what he lived through. I felt myself struggling for air, like I was there; I could feel the blood rushing through my veins, the oxygen coming out of my lungs.

Another line that really caught my eyes, which got me strung in on the poem was, "I am satisfied--I see, dance, laugh, sing: / As the hugging and loving Bed-fellow sleeps at my side through the night, and withdraws at the peep of the day, with stealthy tread," I believe that these lines are describing her relationship with her husband and how she loves him dearly. I also believe that He will do anything with her and treats her very well.

The last line that really stuck with me was when he said "I exist as I am--that is enough; / If no other in the world be aware, I sit content; / And if each and all be aware, I sit content." Here Whitman is claiming that he exist on earth, therefore that is enough. I believe that Whitman before was not getting enough credit for what he did. I believe that others though or acted like he was not there, like he was not enough to exist, but here he is saying the he does exists, and that is enough for him. I believe that he didn't care what others thought, he thinks he did enough to matter in the world.

Whitman is a very intelligent writer and I really enjoyed reading this piece that he wrote. The Song of Myself is a very long poem that is full of experiences that Whitman went through. He was a brave and strong man that went through a lot in his life. All of his life experiences he shared with us along with advice were really informative.