Walt Whitman: \"Song of Myself\"

Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself"

Q1 / S1: Walt Whitman is a thirty-seven years old male, who, as he states, is in perfectly good health and hopes to remain that way until the day he dies. He appears to be still living, or at least visiting, his original roots, as he is currently in the place where his parents and their parents had lived. Despite the fact that the initial goal of the poem seems that of celebrating and singing the author, the following lines reveal the possibility that the goal is not just that, but also includes the celebration of life.

Q2 / S16: The sixteenth section is one of intentionally created paradoxes, aimed to reveal the great diversity of the author, as the multitude of elements and characteristics (even conflicting ones) that co-exist within him. He is for instance both young and old, both wise and foolish, both child and fully grown man.

Q3 / S26: A major part in the construction of the poem is played by the representation of sounds, all which come together to reveal a normal world, in which each action, event or feeling is faithfully depicted by the sound it makes.

At a more specific level, Whitman's poem reveals sounds of joy -- "I hear the sound I love, the sound of the human voice"; sorrow -- "the faint tones of the sick"; work -- "the steam whistle"; art -- "I hear the violoncello"; and nature -- "bustle of growing wheat."

Q4 / S31: Man is one with the nature. And in nature, all things are equal and equally important. All of these things are then easily accessible to the individual, if not directly, then through the power of mind and through remembrance. And no matter what challenge confronts the man, he is always able to return to his comfort zone, or his "nest."

Q5 / S33: Whitman cherishes and respects the foundations of the life surrounding him. Furthermore however, he also understands them. He for instance sympathizes with everything and everyone from older times through today's times. He understands the joys and sorrows of all living things, from a simple leaf to a complex human being. And even in terms of human beings, he understands their complexities. He for instance sympathizes with a stay-at-home woman or with a priest. He also understands the cyclic character of life. At the end of the section, the general dies, but this does not cause the end of the battle, just its continuation under different circumstances, with the necessity to move on and adjust to new situations.

Q6 / S35 and 36: Both sections 35 and 36 tell the story of the marine encounter between Richard Bonhomme and the English Serapis, from the angle of the winner -- the Americans. The 35th section is focused on the actual battle, whereas the 36th section is set as the battle was won, but the winners were placed in the life-threatening situation in which their boat was sinking and had to quickly move to the Serapis.