An Analysis of Walt Whitmans Poems regarding Ralph Waldo Emerson.

English A1

To what extent did Ralph Waldo Emersons Philosophy influence Walt Whitmans Poetry?

By Andre Beukers

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Page 2 Content Page Page 3 Abstract Page 4 Introduction Page 5 Song of Myself analysis Page 6 Poem Selection

Abstract

Ralph Waldo Emerson, leader of the well known transcendental movement was an American Philosopher and essayist. His strong views on individualism and love for nature are present in two very notorious essays, Self-Reliance Essay and Nature. Walt Whitman, arguably one of the most important poets of the American Canon, was greatly influenced by Emersons views on Nature and the individual and are constantly portrayed through out his works. Another views strongly held by both Emerson and Whitman is that of Democracy, not in the conventional manner referring to the economy, but Democracy to the very essence of the word as in equality towards everything. R.W.Emerson in his essay Nature, writes about how the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul. He glorifies and unites the self and universe and questions to what end is nature? He advocates the beauty of every moment and an original Relation to the universe and almost scorns retrospection. Self-Reliance essay focuses more on believing your own thoughts which is a virtue of or causing genius. Most of Whitmans poems can be linked to some idea in one of Emersons essays. Rich in imagery of nature and ideas of Self-Reliance, Whitmans poetry is sometimes almost a reflection of Emersons philosophical lines into poetry. In this essay I will show how some of Emersons main philosophical themes such as Self-Reliance and Nature visibly influenced the poet Walt Whitman.

Walt Whitman was an American poet and humanist. He lived during the transition between transcendentalism and realism which were both evident in his poetry. Whitman worked as a teacher and a journalist apart from publishing his poetry. His first book, leaves of grass was published in 1855 with his own money, which he continued to revise until his death in 1892. As he lived during the rise of America, therefore some of his poetry reflects patriotic ideals among one of his beliefs in relation to society was the symbolic relation between the poet and society. "The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it." What I suppose Whitman means here is that the poet is essentially the voice of his nation, therefore this mutual communion is essential. At early ages, Whitman even argued for prohibition (as alcohol at the time believed to contain the nations development) and even wrote a temperance novel. What differs Whitman however from other patriots, were his strong views on a democratic and equal world for all and not only for his own country was one side so brave? The other was equally brave. These views on equality did not limit themselves to nations, he is also frequently talking about generations hence, the equal greatness of all religions (although he followed none) I adopt each theory, myth, god, and demi-god and even supported the Wilmot Proviso (one of the majors causes for the American Civil war with abolitionism ideals). Whitman worked as a volunteer nurse during the American civil war after he saw the pile of limps of soldier when looking for his brother George. His experiences are portrayed in a book and through out his poetry. Whitmans poetry is unique in form. He wrote mostly in free verse with extended sentences, full of enjambments spared punctuation which portrays his nonstopping line of thought of an overwhelmed man. By using nice simplistic vocabulary he is able to be the poet not only of intellectuals but as he mentions Everyman, I will go with thee he uses a lot of listings also. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, essayist and leader of the transcendentalist movement. Emerson along with other like-minded intellectuals founded the Transcendentalist club, which he soon abandoned due to his strong beliefs on individualism, which may be the justification for the great amount of intuitive knowledge in his essays. He wrote essays on subjects such as Nature and Self-Reliance and often tried to define the subjective nature of things such as Beauty and Art. In one of his essays Nature, he attempts to show the connection between the tangible context of nature and a metaphysical relation occurring in spiritual realms between the Soul and Nature. Emersons essays are characterized by and abundance of imagery and usually uses his real life experiences to show and explain his thoughts. Through out his essays 4

he uses inductive reasoning to portray his beliefs.

Analysis of Song of Myself What better way to introduce Emerson than a brief analysis on the introduction of one of his most finest works, Song of Myself. Song of myself was first published in the 1855 Leaves of Grass as the first of twelve untitled poems, then in the 56 edition it was titled Poem of Walt Whitman, an American only then shortened to Song of Myself in the 60 edition. Which means it went through a lot of changes hence Whitmans famous quote Of course I contradict myself I contain multitudes. Also, notice how both tittles refer to Whitman himself. And this poem certainly is about nothing but Walt Whitman the poet and, everyone else For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. Whitman makes no distinction between a man and the other, in part X of Song of Myself he says how he found a runaway slave and assuredfilld a tubgave him a roomhad him sit next me at table also in part VI where he speculates the grass maybe a uniform hieroglyphic and it means, Srpouting among black folks as among white Equality is one of his main themes, not only in his poetry but also in the American Civil war. showing the best and divindg it from the worst age vexes age, knowing the perfect fitness and equanimity of things, while they discuss I am silent, and go bathe and admire myself Whitman commonly appears as an absent figure, everywhere yet belonging no where. Like in part VIII of Song of myself where he describes several situations such as excited crowdexclamations of womenarrests of criminals and ends with a short phrase followed from a hyphen -I come and I depart. Notice how this balanced short sentence makes him seem an ephemeral character present in several situations yet a moment only to wheel and hurry back in the darkness This may also be interpreted as the briefness of our existence. Whitman had very original views about death also, all goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, and to die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier, the imagery of death is a recurring theme in his poems, yet he does not portray death through a pessimistic lens. Returning to part III of Song of Myself where he says while they discuss I am silent may seem to suggest Whitman having a low self esteem (and indeed such interpretations have been brought up) but id argue that it connects to the idea of part VI of how limited in knowledge we are. A child asks him what is the grass? and he says I do not know what it is anymore than he. (and then goes on to speculate how many things the grass might be, other than just a leaf) Which is reasonable because, all we know about the grass is what we precieve, and perception is identical in all ages, this way he asserts us he is not the beholder of truth, but is rather like anyone else, a mere speculator so he doesnt bothering quarrelling about such matters. It is important to note that one might get confused by the word nature which commonly refers to vegetation and animals only, in this context Nature also embodies man as Emerson suggests in his essay Nature all other men and my own body, must be ranked under this name, NATURE. Whitmans relation with nature is usually profound and commonly portrayed in an exciting tone, I am in love with it, I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked, again the idea seen in Emersons essay Nature of a sense of bliss when isolated in nature In the woods, is perpetual youth. But Whitman goes further than simply declaring his love for nature he (us) and nature are portrayed as one, notice the phrase crotch and vine the word crotch can be understood in two ways, the human body or as in a fork in a tree emphasizing this 5

unification of man and nature. Also like Emerson, Whitman believed strongly in the power of the Self, Emersons Self-Reliance Essay reflects much upon the power which resides in him [a man i.e. generalized] and so does Whitman tell us you shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self. This connects much to the idea of an untamed nature, or in this case untamed mind growing with its own strengths Nature without check with original energy as he puts it.

Chosen collection of other poems The first stanza of the poem Miracles is one extended sentence of fourteen verses listing the different landscapes and views of Whitmans world. He glorifies the beauty every where, in the big city of Manhattan the same as in people anyone I love or even the rest and the same with nature the wonderfulness of insects in no particular order suggesting the equality in greatness in one and all. Lists is one of Whitmans main characteristics (he uses it in most of his works) in this case it is used to portray his flow of conscious of an overwhelmed state of mind by the beauties or Miracles of the world. The poem opens with an ironic question who makes much of a miracle? this question is ironic because miracles are happenings which one usually experiences with a certain awe, so when he asks who makes much of a miracle? Whitman is actually suggesting we are not amazed by miracles anymore because it is there every single day, nature is a spectacle of miracles. This idea of how weve grown accustomed to miracles as to the point of disregarding them appears in Emersons Nature, If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore them. Whitman goes even further than specific places or things every hour every cubic inch he includes every moment of time and space in all three dimensions (cubic), which portrays what intense feelings he had about life, and indeed he was in love with his existence. In the poem Birds of Passage Whitman incorporates common themes such as individualism and transcendentalism in a few lines with a playful tone while directly talking to his readers. The poem begins in a fantasy world with talking animals come said the muse which contributes to the playful tone, however the word muse if used as a verb means to give a thought at, it comes from old French muser which actually means meditate. Therefore, we realize he is actually suggesting these few lines are worth musing on, giving it an ironic meaning as at first glance the poem seems like a dreamy fantasy but after musing on, we realize he is actually inviting us to read his words beyond their literal meaning, to transcend reality. The poem follows sing me the universal, which contributes to the idea of asking his reader to elevate himself beyond the physical world by pulling us into the realm of abstract ideas (universals). In the second stanza Whitman brings in the idea of good and bad within us, how they exist mutually and dependent of each other. Amid the measureless grossness and the slag Nestles the seed perfection, the grossness and the slag represents the badness and amid that evil power there is also the seed perfection which is the goodness. The way Whitman refers to the seed perfection as nestling enclosed and safe within its central heart suggests this seed is not obvious but rather hidden somewhere within us, also notice the choice of 6

diction here, enclosed central heat these words give a sense of some hidden power, this maybe a reference to the power of the individual portrayed in Emersons Self-Reliance Essay. The seed is a symbol for something which is about to grow, therefore suggesting that if we dont take care of it, it wont bare fruit but conceald or unconceald the seed is waiting. And adds are the ones responsible for our own seed by every life a share or more or less which suggests that even though it is there, it wont grow unless we want it to and by how much we want. (read As a man thinketh by Allen James for more information on the subjectivity of reality and how man is the master gardener of his life) A hand-mirror by Whitman is a critical poem on self-reliance. Envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse (Self-Reliance essay R.W.Emerson). Differently form Emersons essay, which advocates the unique creative power sleeping within each individual, Whitman in this poem explicitly attacks those who are not self-reliant. The title hand-mirror suggests Whitman must be talking to himself or making us talk to ourselves, as it is a monologue with ones own reflection in direct speech. The poem opens hold it up sternly - see this it sends back, (who is it? Is it you?) These two punchy questions set a stern tone to the voice while sarcastically anticipating the criticisms. A mirror is a mirror because it has the property of reflecting that which it is held up to, so by telling us to hold it up and look into it, and still ask, who is it its as if Whitman is saying we cant recognize ourselves any more. The mirror is an extended metaphor of course as he is not talking about appearances, but rather looks right through them I see through the broadcloath(Song of Myself part VII). Emerson believed that when your not true in one aspect, your every truth is not quite true. So when Whitman says outside fair costume, within ashes and filth he is suggesting someone who is neither righteous nor truthful for the unseen is proved by the seen. In the poem Whoever you are holding me now in hand Whitman gives his books a voice of its own and warns his readers of how he cant be defined therefore try to define him and that becomes an endless addiction. without one thing all will be useless, and I suppose this one thing is that I am not what you supposed, but far different. there is no single definition for him, so if you dont understand that youll just spend your time trying to define something thats always changing therefore its a useless process. Even though Whitman does not know what we are supposing of him he reassures us we can never be right because of his ever-changing persona Do I contradict myself? Of course I contradict myself. I contain multitudes This thought leads to the idea of spontaneity in Emersons Self-Reliance essay a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. What they mean is that as humans we are constantly developing and changing so we must accept each new belief as if it were true. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day (Emerson). There is also the theme of living through your words after death Touching you would I silently sleep and be carried eternally. We then realize its not actual Whitman speaking, but his words or book which is personified in libraries I lie as one dumb or dead therefore maybe its not only because of his spontaneity that we can never know who he is but because his books (his only accounts to us) has a voice of its own independent from Whitman himself. Whitman was also greatly influenced by the American civil war, he volunteered to be a nurse during the war when supposedly he saw a pile of amputated limbs. The wound-dresser is one of his war poems that give his readers an idea of some of the horrors. The title wound-dresser is a metaphor suggesting the uselessness of his job simply dressing the wounds as he couldnt do much more as an inexperienced nurse. The poem is structured as a dialog between an old man being Whitman and some other character (who appears to have very superficial views 7

about war) pestering him to recall his war years. We soon realize how unpleasant Whitmans job was. With some of the descriptions crushd head amputated hand bloody stump the poem makes any sensitive reader uneasy. Whitman even brings us into the head of a soldier begging to die be persuaded O beautiful death! to bring us even closer to the idea of how death was a relief compared to the suffering these men were going through. The vividness of these scenes and interactions with dying soldiers suggests how deeply affected Whitman was, which is why his memory cant be easily forgotten. Memory is one of the main dilemmas this poem deals with, while the world of gain appearances goes on and everything is over forgotten which is emphasized by the metaphor of the waves [which] wash the imprints off the sand, his memory cant be easily washed away due to the horrors of his experience suggesting it is like a burden he must carry. Further on, Whitman invites the reader to follow him into his memory as he begins recalling and like in other poems, he gives us a warning be of strong heart foreshadowing the poems climax which is filled with strong death imagery where he tells us of his job as the wound-dresser. He describes the refuse pail being filld with clotted rags and blood, emptied, and filld again. The word again in the end of the phrase emphasizes the endlessness of his work. Whitman suggests how death isnt that bad considering the things he saw I could not refuse to die for you, if that would save you. Here Whitman says he would give his life not to save another, but to save the man from his suffering that appears to be worse off than death. The soldier is even begging to die while life struggles hard, its almost as if life were the mans enemy at that moment keeping him from resting. come sweet death! Be persuaded O beautiful death! In mercy come quickly, it is not hard to picture a soldier in whatever realms of reality he might be begging to die, squirming between life and death. With curvd neck and side-falling head, eyes are closed, his face is pale those young men would spend a day or two more before dying. The poem ends effectively with a few calm and simple words, suggesting the serene state of mind of reflection some are so young, some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad its almost as if Whitman were trying to say how such events are indescribable and even though he trys to tell us, none will be as effective as that which his remains with him in silence, in dreams projections. The poem Poets to come! is a message to future generations encouraging us to (to put it in Emersons words) an origianl relation to the universe. Like in Nature where Emerson advocates Philosophies of insight and not tradition in this poem Whitman reminds us that we are the new broodgreater than before known and in a prophetic tone emphasized by exclamation marks, calls out for us to Arouse! for there are New lands, new men, new thoughts (Emerson). According to Emerson, we are retrospective and that is our biggest mistake, for lingering in past beliefs isnt any better than groping among dry bones. I myself but write one or two indicative words for the future, I but advance a moment, only to wheel and hurry back in the darkness (poets to come, Walt Whitman) Here its almost as if Whitman were expressing his insignificance and saying his life is subjective to what we want it to be. you must justify me. This recurs to the idea of a poet living through his words in the future long after he is dead. And his words are the only way to last as we all but advance a moment, only to wheel and hurry back in the darkness which refers to our fast lifes compared to the grandiousness of time. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry is a poem with a meditative tone where Whitman 8

philosophises about time and space. He suggests how there is no real distance time and space may impose just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt. Here he shows how just as we, ever so many hundred years hence, contemplate nature so did he, therefore there is no real change. Even though we are all disintegrated from each other, we are all part of the scheme (life) and through these commonplaces he is able to break the bounds of time, I am with you He emphasizes this by talking to us years hence in the present tense. He uses certain techniques which allow him break the barriers of time such as referring to usual costumes of no specific age so there is no future too far ahead that he is not referring to, embracing therefore all ages and cultures simultaneously. He also explores his role as a poet, since words are inanimate and therefore ever lasting It avails not, neither time or place-distance avails not; I am with youever so ever so many generations hence it doesnt matter how far away we are in time or space he will be living there through his words to whoever is reading his works. And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence, are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose. (Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Walt Whitman) Whitman even puts the future and past in the same realm, suggesting similitudes of the past and those of the future are one, rather than distinguished. others who look back on me because I look'd forward to them The same way we can look back on our pasts, Whitman suggests he is looking forward to future generations therefore breaking the common notions of time. He goes further from explicitly breaking the restrains of time and space it avails not, time nor place distance avails not so there are no barriers between him in the 19th century with a pen and paper, and us in the computerized 21st century allowing therefore the poet to come to life through his words. This may also be Whitman suggesting how the past is as certain as the future and therefore they arent so different as commonly supposed. It is not by accident that Whitman is regarded as one of the major poets of the American Canon. His poems are unique, in form and original in ideas. More than a poet, Whitman elevates himself to the level of a prophet. Apart from revealing us to ourselves by looking the human nature with no distinction between one and another, his words portray a sense of unconditional love for the human race. Whitmans works are constantly exhaling a sense sponaniety and truthfulness of there own, as if independent of the poet. His ever changing persona is one of his biggest virtues, and lets keep in mind this is the 19th century where slavery was still legal. More than writing poetry, Whitman makes us look into our own selves and question our existence and that of everything around us, he revolutionizes thought and makes us look to the world with wonder and remark, and say whose? Whitman portrays human nature not by praising our virtues or scorning our vices, but rather for what we really are, indefinable and equal. He doesnt only advocate democracy for the state or institutions but understands democracy to the very essence of the concept, Equality in every moment of every thing. Being one with nature was also important for the poet in a spiritual level, as we are basically composed of natures atoms and are products of nature we are not distinct at all from it. In nature Whitman finds peace, and advocates it, he is definitely an overwhelmed man and constsantly intoxicated by every moments beauties and uniqueness. He is clearly in love with nature, which includes himself and all that is not himself. In spontaneity and self-reliance, he does not wish to teach us his ways but rather find our own you shall not look through my eyes either. Whitmans words definitely portray his contemplative flow of conscious, full of long lists with few stops; the poet is able to make us breathless by the end of some of his works, overwhelmed only by thought and mental image. As Whitman appears to be intoxicated by the world we readers are intoxicated by his words. 9

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