Walt Whitman – “Song of Myself” – Part 1 Analysis
Walt Whitman (from Leaves of Grass, first published in the 1855 edition)
1
I celebrate myself;
And what I assume you shall assume;
For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my Soul;
I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass.
Houses and rooms are full of perfumes—the shelves are crowded with perfumes;
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it;
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.
The atmosphere is not a perfume—it has no taste of the distillation—it is odorless;
It is for my mouth forever—I am in love with it;
I will go to the bank by the wood, and become undisguised and naked;
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.
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The short opening stanza of part one of “Song of Myself” immediately draws the reader closer to Whitman, with “And what I shall assume you shall assume;/For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.”. This gives the reader a more personal link to both Whitman and the poem, also leading to some ambiguity as to the identity of the “Myself” referred to in the title and the mass of personal pronouns in the opening stanza – with them, is Whitman referring solely to himself, or the reader, or is he perhaps voicing the private thoughts of many? With the line “For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.”, Whitman could perhaps be suggesting that on the most basic level we are all one, and can be thought of as one unit, linked together inextricably. Although, with a more romantic reading, he could be professing the strength of his love for another, and their inherent oneness, as though on a most basic level they are one being.
The scientific nature and connotations of the word “atom” in this line are then contrasted sharply with both the possible romantic interpretation of the line and with the purely religious and personal connotations of the word “Soul” at the end of the next line. The word ‘Soul’ stands out through its placement at the end of the line - which inevitably leads the reader to dwell on the word a little longer - in addition to its being capitalised which stresses its importance whilst perhaps suggesting that the soul is a different entity entirely. These two themes – science and religion – are conflicting in their nature, and – whilst being separated by the gap between stanzas – suggests that conflicting natures could perhaps be a theme of this poem, potentially through the voicing of internal and personal conflicts.
The poems opening line consists of only three words – “I celebrate myself” – which immediately instates a jovial mood and pleasant tone for the reader, a notion that is perhaps comforting and provides a sense of security in a reader or audience. However, this initial happy tone and sense of security is then quickly undermined in stanzas three and four (lines 6-10) of part one. The stanza opens with the line “Houses and rooms are full of perfumes – the shelves are crowded with perfumes”. The word “houses” instantly conjures the thought of a building, and through being followed by “rooms” it takes the reader from a large open space of possibility within the poem to a small confined space, with the word “crowded” adding to the impression of claustrophobia and restriction. If taken literally, Whitman here uses the sense of smell to convey a sense of confinement, with the opening line creating the idea of a cloying, overwhelming but not unpleasant scent – in the next line he states that “I […] know it and like it”. The use of the word “houses” and the association of “house” with “home” combined with this could suggest that, like the scent of multiple perfumes, home life and daily routine can be seen as smothering, whilst not being unpleasant. Whitman also says that “the distillation would intoxicate me also”, which with this interpretation could suggest that we can become too familiar and dependant on our daily routine and day-to-day lives, an almost addictive comfort that can be detrimental to the leading of a full life. Whitman then adds that he “shall not let it” (intoxicate him), which gives this stanzas ending a defiant and determined tone, very different to the relaxed and jovial mood created in the first stanza. This rapid shift in tone and mood - and indeed the shift between the third stanza and the fervent longing at the end of the fourth stanza - so early in the poem suggests that similar shifts and conflicting ideas can be expected throughout the rest of the poem. This also perhaps gives the impression that Whitman is unsettled or ill at ease, whilst mimicking the jumpy nature of human thought, which fits closely with the notion of internal reflection suggested by the title “Song of Myself”.
There are, however, other possible interpretations of this passage. The perfumes could, for instance, refer to the past through cloying memories, which it is easy to find an addictive comfort in, a habit that can also, however, prevent one from moving on to create new memories.
In the following stanza, Whitman takes us out of the confines of the overly-scented room to the contrast of the atmosphere, in which he presents the notion of freedom, a notion that he is “in love” with. The stanza opens with “The atmosphere is not a perfume – it has no taste of the distillation – it is odorless”, contrasting to the perfumed air and close confines of the “room” referred to in the previous stanza. The increased number of hyphens used in the opening line increases the pace of the poem and gives the impression that Whitman is voicing a slightly disjointed, jumpy chain of thought. This increased pace also aids the shift to the more fervent and longing tone that is present in the fourth stanza, a tone that perhaps suggests that Whitman (or whoever he is voicing through the poem) is yearning unreservedly for the freedom he describes. This stanza is also the longest in part 1 of the poem, again suggesting that freedom is a priority and necessity for the speaker.
The stanza, and indeed part 1, ends with the third and fourth lines reading “I will go to the bank by the wood, and become undisguised and naked;/I am mad for it to be in contact with me.”. The word “undisguised” suggests that Whitman is not revealing his true self to the world and is hiding under a façade, but that he now wishes to reveal his true self to the world. There is an emphasis made in these lines on the idea of nature, with the reference to the wood and river bank coupled with the idea of disguise suggesting that Whitman wishes to return to what he naturally is. Whitman also states that he will “become undisguised and naked”, suggesting that the very clothes he wears restrict him and conceal his true self, and perhaps that he wants to feel at one with nature, as we were designed to be before social conventions were brought into being. The final line, “I am mad for it to be in contact with me” sustains the notion of a fervent longing for change, whilst also putting the character Whitman is presenting (be it himself or otherwise) in a rather extreme position, a fact that leads the reader to perceive everything written as being true.
These last lines could be seen as referring to Whitman’s homosexuality – given the context of 19th century America, Whitman is likely to have had to repress or conceal his sexuality, something that would have been conventional at the time yet incredibly oppressive. Homosexuality was socially unacceptable and seen as amoral and unnatural at the time, however despite social opposition Whitman wrote a number of poems that make reference to or entirely concern his own sexuality, a fact that could lend a confident or defiant twist to his work. The word “contact” in the last line could suggest the longing for a physical relationship, whilst the nature he aims to return to could refer to Whitman’s natural sexual orientation, as openly adopting this would achieve Whitman a freedom from the constraints of social convention and the expectations of society.
[1] www.bartleby.com/142/14.html- this is one of the places you can read the rest of the poem.
