(Minute 0 – 2:40)

‘I celebrate myself,’ declares Walt Whitman’s sprawling poem ‘Song of Myself.’ First published in 1855 in Whitman’s collection Leaves of Grass, ‘Song of Myself’ is one of the best known and most influential poems ever written by an American. Running to somewhere around 70 pages and divided into 52 sections, ‘Song of Myself’ takes the reader on an epic journey through many settings, time periods, viewpoints and personas. Walt Whitman had some radical ideas about America, democracy, spirituality, sexuality, nature, and identity. He used ‘Song of Myself’ to explore those ideas while preaching self-knowledge, liberty, and acceptance for all.

I choose this video commentary because I liked how she describes the main themes mentioned in section 16 of the poem. For example, she mentioned unity, and the circle of life and described each one of them. The term “unity” in this poem means how Whitman focuses on unifying all types of people, it doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor, black or white. Whitman would like us to believe that he is putting together all the various kinds of people that he has listed in the previous sections. He’s the union of opposites: old and young, foolish and wise, mother and father, the average people and the elites, South and North (He wrote this poem just before the Civil War). The author of the poem mentioned “I am old and young” which refers to the circle of life that we all experience. Section 16 starts with contradictions. The author states he is one thing, but also the opposite of that thing; “Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man.” Whitman is saying that he is filled with contradictions, and he states it is not something to be ashamed of.

‘Song of Myself’ is not a poem with a clear story or a single point to make. Although Whitman has some distinct themes that come up over and over again, he’s juggling so many ideas, characters, images, and symbols all at once, and that is what makes reading this poem a little bit confusing. That’s part of what makes it so appealing to so many different types of people. You can keep going back to the poem again and again and find something new.