Elaboration. Elaboration, or amplification, is a writing technique in which a subject is introduced and then expanded upon by means of repetition with slight changes, the addition of details, or similar devices. As you read “Song of Myself,” look for examples of elaboration, as in section 6 when the child asks, “What is the grass?” The speaker responds with a series of possibilities, each of which begins with the same phrase: “I guess . . .”
Symbol. A symbol is a thing that stands for or represents both itself and something else. In Whitman’s poem, the grass is both a conventional symbol, one with widely recognized associations, and an idiosyncratic symbol, one that assumes secondary meanings because of the special uses to which it is put by the writer. As you read “Song of Myself,” find all the passages in which the grass occurs and decide what the grass symbolizes in each of these instances.
Elegy and Style. An elegy is a long, formal poem written about death or loss. Style is the manner in which something is said or written. Traditionally, critics and scholars have referred to three levels of style: high style, for formal occasions or lofty subjects; middle style, for ordinary occasions or subjects; and low style, for extremely informal occasions or subjects. Review the full definition of style in the Handbook of Literary Terms. As you read, decide whether “O Captain! My Captain!” qualifies as an elegy. Jot down evidence to support your answer. Also decide whether the poem is written in a high, middle, or low style.
Rhyme, Rhyme Scheme, and Meter. Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhyme, or rhymes at the ends of lines of verse. The meter of a poem is its rhythmical pattern. Read the poem aloud to yourself. Jot down on paper any examples of rhyme or rhythm that you notice in your reading.
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Whitman writes within the tradition of Romanticism, a literary and artistic movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that placed value on emotion and imagination rather than reason. The Romantics elevated the individual over society, nature over human works, country life over city life, common people over aristocrats, and freedom over control or authority.
“Song of Myself” is the first poem of Leaves of Grass, a single volume that Whitman spent his life writing. Leaves of Grass is propelled by the desire to enlighten the people and regenerate the ideals of the American republic. Unconventional in both content and technique, Leaves of Grass is probably the most influential volume of poems in the history of American literature. Although the book was a commercial failure, critics recognized the appearance of a bold new voice in poetry. However, some critics did not like Whitman’s use of free verse in long rhythmical lines with a natural, organic structure. Two larger editions of the book appeared in 1856 and 1860. The last edition that he edited appeared in 1892.
“Song of Myself” is Whitman’s effort to describe his personality, or as he put it: “one man’s—the author’s—identity, ardors, observations, faiths, and thoughts.” The selection that follows exemplifies all the themes for which Whitman is best known: his belief that insignificant, lowly subjects are in fact worthy of poetry; his democratic celebration of the common people; and his love of natural and animal pleasure. All of these themes are summed up in the grass, the symbol central to his life work. Like all the poems in Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself” is written in free verse: the poem does not fit into any planned form, and it has no regular pattern of rhyme, meter, or stanza length. To Whitman, the poet provides the energy necessary to the growth of a poem, but it develops spontaneously, in largely unpredictable ways.
“O Captain! My Captain!” is one of Whitman’s two famous elegies, or poems of death and loss, in memory of Abraham Lincoln; the other is “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” “O Captain! My Captain!” first appeared in Drum-Taps, a collection of Whitman’s poems that was published in 1865, the year of Lincoln’s assassination. In 1867 and 1871, the poem appeared in Leaves of Grass. In its use of rhyme and meter and elevated diction, “O Captain! My Captain!” differs from Whitman’s other poetry.
What insignificant, lowly, or common thing do you value that many others do not?
Imagine that someone you admire greatly has died. What would you regret most about the loss of this person?
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