American literature reflections and analysis

¶ … American poet Walt Whitman, "One's-Self I Sing," "Song of Myself" #s 1,6,9,10,12,14,15,31,33, and 52, and "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field one Night." Specifically, it will reflect on three pieces of work and show what is going on in historical context, information about the author, what period he wrote these works, and how these works reflect personal experience.

Walt Whitman wrote during the Civil War, and he wrote much about the horrors of battle, and losing one's family, which clearly shows in "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field one Night." In this poem, the narrator keeps vigil over his dead son, and then buries him, which thousands of Americans were doing as the Civil War wore on. The language of the poem is rich and emotional, "Vigil final for you brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your death, / I faithfully loved you and cared for you living, I think we shall surely meet again,)" (Whitman 217), and clearly reflects the father's (and the country's) anguish at the continuing war. "One's-Self I Sing" is a short poem written after the war was over, and the entire nine lines seem like a celebration. They speak of man and woman equally, and celebrate Democracy and freedom. They are almost a celebration that the war is over, the killing has stopped, and perhaps life can get back to normal for most people. In "Song of Myself," Whitman really captures what is happening in the country with his poetry. He speaks of helping runaway slaves, and of the agricultural backbone of the country, which became much more industrial after the Civil War. The people lived off the land, and knew the animals and plants around them. "The sharp-hoof'd moose of the north, the cat on the house-sill, / the chickadee, the prairie-dog, / The litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her teats," (Whitman 14), and this is clear from this poem. This "Song of Myself" is really a song of America, because it portrays everyday Americans doing everyday things. It is also a tribute to the natural world, and how big a part it played in Americans lives at the time. "Song of Myself" was written before the Civil War began, and so it is more hopeful than the poems written during the war, but gives a valid view of what was happening before the war, and how the people lived in America. Walt Whitman's poems are about the people around him, and their everyday lives, and this makes him a truly American writer.