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149041884
Lecturer: Mr Nick Everett
Seminar Tutor: Kathleen L. Bell
A look in-depth at the concept of democracy and the figure of the prophet poet in
Song of Myselfs section twenty-four
Walt Whitmans Song of Myself has been one of the most widely read
American poems by far. However, unlike other American works, Whitmans work has
gone through many different versions since he kept on revising it until his death. The
poem itself belongs to the collection of poems Leaves of Grass; the version of the
poem analysed below belongs to the 1881 version, which it is structured in fifty-two
sections and the first version to be published anonymously. Having a look at
Whitmans poetry, the reader is able to identify some key elements, themes and
motifs present throughout the whole poem. Yet, having a closer and in-depth reading
of the poem will be needed for the common reader to be able to clarify what the main
characteristics are, concerning its different sections. Thus, in this text the purpose of
the essay is to analyse the section twenty-four in some different aspects as it is the
sense of democracy and egalitarianism present in the excerpt, briefly explaining some
relevant aspects of the text linked to this concept and connecting it with Whitmans
figure of the new kind of poet.
One of the most visible elements in the section twenty-four is the concept of
Democracy. The structure, as mentioned above, is divided in fifty-two sections, even
though the whole structure of the poem seems to unify the whole poem, one of the
main characteristics of the authors poetry and personality is freedom, and that
freedom comes from this poetry that is emancipated from fixed meters. This freedom
is somehow connected with democracy itself, not talking about political issues but in
the sense that the speaker supports equality and brotherhood for all the people, no
matter what social class, gender or age. This can be seen throughout all the poem,
when he is equalizing himself to the rest of the humankind: No sentimentalist, no
stander above men and women or apart from them,/ No more modest than
immodest. (lines 499-500), or Whatever degrades another degrades me,/ And
whatever is done or said returns at last to me (lines 502-503). Therefore, it can be
seen some kind of empathy; the speaker has a strong sense of empathy, he feels
identified with others. This could be also expressed in a sense of egalitarianism, in
which the speaker celebrates and loves all human beings. At the same time, Whitman
equates the human body and democracy. Experiences go through the body. This is
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leader for the mass of common people. He is a cosmos, in some way giving it a sense
of completeness; he represents all ideas of the universe. This ideal of the new kind of
poet, the prophet poet can be found in the preface of Song of Myself, and it is
somehow something of importance to understand the speaker through each one of
the different sections but also as the poem as a whole.
As a way of conclusion, it is noteworthy the importance of the notion of
democracy, which is at the same time based on equalizing, inclusiveness,
conectiveness and a sense of communication between all the creatures in the world.
For Whitman the body is as important as the soul, so he is original in this sense
inasmuch as he equalizes them. The mere title of the book, Leaves of Grass, is for the
speaker a symbol that unifies the poems in the book, he chooses this symbol as the
whole unit of the book; nature is the symbol of grass, if it dies it comes back to life and
there is renewal and regeneration. So it could be also a symbol of hope; peoples life is
as brief as leaves of grass. This is understood as a never-ending process, and the best
symbol for this is the grass. Finally, theres obviously noted the figure of a prophet
poet, a superior lyrical subject and speaker who is believed to be as a kind of Supreme
Being, a kind of hero. This is, Whitman portrays the figure of the poet as someone who
is complete in himself. And it is through this unique and fascinating idea conveyed by
the author (the poet prophet) and by means of the employment of an ambitious but at
the same time accessible language, that just as this poet is complete in himself, it is
Song of Myself completed in itself.