Pre-reading
Have you listened to the songs praising the glory of great persons/places/movements? have you listened to the songs where singers/composers/writers praise themselves? Is it acceptable if one praises oneself? if the created is appreciated, is the creator appreciated and praised for the glory of his creation?
About The Lesson
The present selection is the opening section of Whitman's longer poem song of myself that has 52 sections. Here the poet seeks to explain the concept of self. His concept has its roots in the philosophical view that all living and non-living entities are but the different forms of the supreme being. Thus, when he sings of himself, he is actually praising the glory of himself or the center of an individual and the whole cosmic self.The poet praises himself and says this applies to everyone for, all are equal and all come from the same source-the the almighty. Everyone shares the same atom. He admires the beauty of a blade of grass-- a symbol of nature. He asserts that he comes from this oil, as did his parents and their parents. He is proud of his land and family and is happy that he is healthy at the age of thirty-seven, and is sure he would be so till the last moment. He wants to see that all kinds of faiths and beliefs hold back for some time so that Nature might speak with no controls whatsoever. He prefers Nature to express itself with its primal energy. Thus the poem speaks volumes about white man's many beliefs like love for the land, pride in one's family, appreciation r nature, faith in oneself and god and so on.
