Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” was at first somewhat shocking to his public because of his unrestrained language replete with provocative sexual expression. The critic Rufus Griswold, writing in the Criterion in 1855 said ” It is impossible to imagine how any man’s fancy could have conceived such a mass of stupid filth, unless he were possessed of the soul of a sentimental donkey.” Indeed, many critics found Whitman’s poetry scandalous and his open expression of the body, nakedness, and unrestrained sexual impulse a cheap imitation of artistic expression. Yet, part of Whitman’s goal is to shock, to shake, and to free poetic expression from what he views as the fetters of morality, and this is precisely what his champions loved about him. Fannie Fern in a celebratory review in The New York Ledger in 1856 wrote, “Walt Whitman, the world needed a ‘Native American’ of thorough, out and out breed—enamored of women not ladies, men not gentlemen.”
As you read through 1 through 25 of “Song of Myself,” consider this question: what, if anything, is distinctly “American” about the voice of Whitman? Are there particular passages or even lines or phrases of passages that caught your attention. Please share with us one passage or particular line(s) from the poem that you believe noteworthy. Why did these lines or passages stand out? Comment on the language or the theme and the connection you made as a reader. Feel free to draw on the critical commentary you read to provide a deeper connection to how these lines from Whitman connect to some of his broader themes (Sexuality and Gender, Death, Nature, Organic Democracy, Slavery and Race, Nation and Self).
Also, be sure to cite the lines using chapter and verse, i.e.: “Nature without check with original energy” (1.13). The cite here clearly indicates the line is from chapter one, line 13.