“Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic” – said Walt Whitman.

“I give them the same, I receive the[m] the same” – said the grass.
“he complains of my gab and my loitering. ” – said the hawk.
“I too am untranslatable” – said Walt Whitman

I don’t want to be pedantic. I took two groups of quotes and chose to highlight them in my interpretation of “I too am untranslatable.” The first grouping is when Walt Whitman uses the word ‘hieroglyphic’ and when he personifies the grass. The line “I give them the same, I receive the[m] the same”  is the grass speaking about humans. The grass is saying that no matter what walk of life, what type of person, no matter who it is, the grass, and in effect, the ground, just as gladly accepts the person when they are buried under it, and just as gladly provides the world for the person to stand upon while they are alive. It is interesting that Whitman chooses to call the grass a hieroglyphic because saying this means that the grass is a symbol. When I dont understand something, I try to take the words that confuse me, and I replace them with words that I know. In this way, I can both learn to understand something that is beyond me, and also glimpse into the thought process behind the creation of whatever it is that I do not understand.

With respect to Walt Whitman, I see a pretty consistent personification of animals and nature in this poem. What this tells me is that Whitman feels some connection to the wild nature of the world. Without intention, my feeling is backed up. For I can quote Whitman where he says “I too am not a bit tamed.” Furthermore, this connection to the world around him gives meaning to the line “I too am untranslatable.”  There is a certain mystery to the nature of wild animals, and the ebb and flow of the water and wind around us. There is an unknown there, and that unknown is unpredictable. When Whitman says he is untranslatable, he is saying that he is unique. He is saying that he is unknown. He is saying that he is unpredictable. But more to the point, Walt Whitman is sharing with the reader his own philosophy on life. There is a very powerful and imperative lens to look at the world through that can allow one to be both humble and boastful. In a very cool way, we are all untranslatable, because each and every one of us cannot truly be understood by any one else. It is a sure thing that If you spend 50 years with someone, they will know you better than anyone else. But it is also a sure thing, that they will never know you as well as you know yourself. In this way, we are all untranslatable. We can be deciphered to a degree, but there will always be something lost in translation, if someone else is trying to understand us. We are all unique, and we must always remember that every other person is just as unique as we are. Although that can be argued as a paradox, it should not be taken that way.