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But this experience does allow him to make the case that all men should at least seek themselves, however the shape of their respective lives allow this. This is the universality that permeates the transcendental movement and touches on the romanticism of poet Walt Whitman. Like Emerson, his work would reflect a distinctly American mode of individualism. It would be from this spirit that he would draw on his own experiences as having some meaning beyond his own identity. We find immediately that Whitman's work as deeply progressive for its time. From a literary and philosophical perspective, its willingness to reflect on the soul with abstraction and metaphor would show Whitman's work to be bold in its expressive liberties. A 'problem' to be construed by the individual reader emerges from this liberty with respect to traditional definitions of the 'soul' in western literature and Whitman's more elaborate understanding of the concept. In 'Song of Myself' it may not be that Whitman regards his soul as his own, but rather as something in a shared American experience. Where Whitman indicates, "I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself / and what I assume you shall assume / for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you," it is made almost immediately apparent what...
There is a real sense that Whitman intends to extend a warmth to his fellow man with a pointed reference to what might be seen as nationalist pride. So are we led to believe when he remarks "My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air / Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same / I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, / Hoping to cease not till death." (Whitman, 1) This strikes us as a wish that begins within him and extends outward to his countrymen, urging peace and brotherhood in the face of mounting industrialization and cultural discord.
Conclusion:
In both the works by Whitman and Emerson, the reader is inclined not to accept that the experiences of the two figures are themselves universal but instead to view the literature thereby produced as an urging toward a more universal sentiment. That is, our experience is nothing if not spent in pursuit of self-knowledge and individuality. It is only then, Davis, Emerson and Whitman alike might argue, that we can truly be of value to our shared society.
Works Cited:
Davis, T. (2007). Formalism, Experience and the Making of American Literature in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press.
Emerson, R.W. (2009). Nature (EBook #29433). Project Gutenberg.
Whitman, W. (1855). Song of Myself. Leaves of Grass.
Works Cited:
Davis, T. (2007). Formalism, Experience and the Making of American Literature in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press.
Emerson, R.W. (2009). Nature (EBook #29433). Project Gutenberg.
Whitman, W. (1855). Song of Myself. Leaves of Grass.
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In "Song of Myself," the longest and most complex of the three poems from Leaves of Grass, Whitman celebrates not only the self, but also the self with, and among others. This poem has 52 separate sections, each of them uniquely rich in imagery; theme; setting; sensory impressions, and sensuality. Section 1 of the poem, for example, freely celebrates Whitman's "Self": his essence, health, body, individuality, and joy of living,
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