Walt Whitman's Transition
In any medium of art that is personal to the artist, a change in the artwork can represent a change in the artist. During a period of depression a musician may write heavier, less upbeat music, or a painter may shift to darker tones and more downcast themes. The medium of poetry certainly has the power to reflect the writer's moods and mental state, and the poetry of Walt Whitman's demonstrates this power. A comparison of "Song of Myself," one of Whitman's earlier poems, and "As I Ebb'd With the Ocean of Life," a poem from later in his career, reveals a great change in Whitman from a man of confidence and optimism to one of dissatisfaction and self-doubt.The publication of Leaves of Grass, the book in which "Song of Myself" was published, is the most notable achievement of Walt Whitman's early career. Whitman set very lofty goals for Leaves of Grass. He hoped to write more than simply a set of poems that could be read and enjoyed by Americans; he wanted Americans to be absorbed by his poetry. He hoped to save America by bringing together a nation on the brink of civil war. Whitman required an enormous amount of optimism to be able to fill the role that he felt he should fill. The task of bringing together the nation t
hrough poetry is a great challenge, and Whitman must have had great confidence in himself to take on the responsibility. This optimism shows through in Whitman's earlier poetry. For example, the first line of "Song of Myself" reads, "I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself." This confident opening sets the mood for a poem that bursts with bold statements that could only be made by a person with great certainty in his statements and great confidence in the verisimilitude of his declarations. "Song of Myself" preaches universal oneness and beauty, and in the poem Whitman asserts the harmony of his life and of life in general. He is clear in his statements and is very sure of himself and his identity. He rises above the "trippers and askers" that oppose or upset him by asserting what his true self is beneath the complications by stating, "Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, / Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary." "Song of Myself" is a characteristic example of Whitman's earlier, more idealistic and optimistic poetry. Walt Whitman would not be satisfied until he had accomplished the original task that he deemed his responsibility, rescuing the divided nation through poetry. Failing to achieve this nearly impossible feat, he began to experience strong self-doubt. Whitman's poetry began to change along with his mental state. Many of the p
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Approximate Word count = 935
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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