I have to admit i knew little about the man, the myth, the legend, Walt Whitman. This is kind of embarrassing considering I reside right outside of his beloved Camden. What I expected out of this first reading was a continuous flow of philosophical poetry about love but that was not the case.
In my reading of Song of Myself i saw a man who was using his orating talent as a political outcry to his fellow countrymen. We must understand the tremuluous times that surrounded him and his country.. By no means was Walt choosing sides, he was simply trying to relate and unite his fellow man to prevent war.
This approach made for a perfect exercise for us scholars to locate a line that we felt a connection with because it was his objective to do so. I feel the poem is magnificent in its ability to speak to all the readers while maintaining the thought process of Walt, himself. This is most evident in his reference to himself. I like the line “it provokes me forever, its says sarcastically, Walt you understand enough…. why don’t you let it out then?”
I feel the need to address another possibly tainted preconception of Walt, i had. Much of the talk surrounding him lately, i feel is his homosexuality. I dont know if it was because i was looking for it throughout his writing that i found it but i feel there were many subliminal hints of his love for the same sex.
Im anxious to read more of his work and can only hope the surprises keep coming.
PS Please someone let me know if im titling this right and positing it in the correct spot becaue im a rookie by all means of the word in regards to blogs and posts. Whats the difference anyway ?