Personally, my favorite Walt Whitman poem probably one of the shortest, simplest poems published in Leaves of Grass. My favorite Walt Whitman poem is called To You, and like I said it is very short and simple. Being short and simple are two of the main reasons I like this poem because it is straight to the point and that makes it a lot easier to understand. What I have found throughout these past few English classes is that a lot of Walt Whitman's poems are kind of hard to understand at first glance. They only start to become clear after we discuss them in class, but it was different with this poem. The first time I read through this poem I actually knew what he was talking about, which is a first for me. The fact that this poem is so short already puts it above longer poems in my mind, but on top of that it was so simple to understand. With most of the poems we have looked at as a class, I have a hard time analyzing them and figuring out what the author really means, but with this one there really is not much analyzing to do. It is exactly what it says, which is the main reason I like this poem. Another reason I like the length of this poem is that when we have to read long poems it is a lot harder to pay attention to it, but with this one its a lot easier to stay focused on what it is. A lot of Whitman's poems seem to only make sense after we discuss them in class, but with this one I feel like I know what it is about without having it explained to me. Just feeling like I know what a poem is about makes me like it because that does not happen very often. With a lot of Whtiman's poems there is some hidden meaning that you have to try and figure out, but this one is so much more simple than those.
http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/24
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Reflection: Chanting the Square Deific
Walt Whitman wrote Chanting the Square Deific as a piece of his book Leaves of Grass. In this poem, Whitman refers to God as four-sided, which is different from the three-sided way the Christian church views God (Oliver). There are four stanzas in this poem, and each stanza is introducing one of each side of this four-sided God Whitman writes about (Oliver).
In the first stanza, God is called many different names. First he calls himself Jehovah, then Old Brahm, then Saturnius, and finally as Kronos (Whitman). All of these names he calls himself are the names of Gods from other cultures or religions (Oliver). In this first stanza God describes himself as being "unpersuadable, relentless" which is very different from the way God is usually portrayed (Whitman). God is usually described as being forgiving, loving, and powerful, but in Whitman's poem he is described as relentless, remorseless, and unpersuadable (Whitman).
In the second stanza, it is from the point of view of Christ, which is the second side of this four-sided view. In this stanza, Christ is described as being more kindhearted, gentle, and wise (Whitman). Christ calls himself the "mightier God" and claims he has the "kiss of affection" (Whitman). Christ also says "and my sweet love bequeath'd here and elsewhere never dies" which is more like the God that is usually described in poems and songs.
The third stanza of this poem is from Satan's point of view, and he says he is "plotting revolt" and is "comrade of criminals" (Whitman). In this four-sided view, Whitman has placed Satan and God across from each other, intentionally creating a balance between good and evil which is something Whitman believes is necessary in the lives of human beings (Oliver).
The fourth stanza is from the point of view of the "Santa Spirita", which is similar to the Holy Spirit. The "general soul" is across from Christ in this four-sided square, and is said to be the most solid part of the square.
In conclusion, this poem is about the four-sided square that makes up the self. The Father, the Son, Satan, and the Holy Spirit are each one side of this square and all of these sides put together make up the Transcendental self.
Bibliography
Oliver, Charles M. "'Chanting the Square Deific'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.
Whitman, Walt. "The Walt Whitman Archive." CHANTING THE SQUARE DEIFIC. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892]) -. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 02 Apr. 2012.
Journal #29
Transcendental self is not what you do, it is who you are. It is really hard to figure out the difference in these two things because it is not something I have ever thought about before. This whole thing is really awkward and weird. A persons transcendental self is not their job or the sports they play, it is what is under the surface and it is who you are. I honestly do not know how to figure out what my transcendental self is because its really weird to think about.
I think that my transcendental self is similar to the person everyone else sees, but maybe slightly different in some ways. For example, when I am around people I never really volunteer to do stuff or attempt new things and I think that is because I do not want to embarrass myself or do something stupid. I think that part of me is the same on the inside and can be seen from the outside because it is just something that I have always done. I think the way I act changes a little depending on the people I am around because there are certain people I am comfortable around and others that I am not, and I think that this would be the same for most other people because no one is comfortable around everyone. I think that these are two things that are probably a little bit obvious to people, and I think a lot of other people may even feel the same about themselves. On the other hand, there are probably so parts of me that people can not see as easily from the outside, but that is the way I want it to be.
This concept is still really hard to think about and hard to understand, let alone write a blog about, but I think I now have at least a little bit of a better understanding of what a transcendental self is. I now understand why it took Whitman so long to write Leaves of Grass and why he revised it so many times because defining your transcendental self is no easy task.
I think that my transcendental self is similar to the person everyone else sees, but maybe slightly different in some ways. For example, when I am around people I never really volunteer to do stuff or attempt new things and I think that is because I do not want to embarrass myself or do something stupid. I think that part of me is the same on the inside and can be seen from the outside because it is just something that I have always done. I think the way I act changes a little depending on the people I am around because there are certain people I am comfortable around and others that I am not, and I think that this would be the same for most other people because no one is comfortable around everyone. I think that these are two things that are probably a little bit obvious to people, and I think a lot of other people may even feel the same about themselves. On the other hand, there are probably so parts of me that people can not see as easily from the outside, but that is the way I want it to be.
This concept is still really hard to think about and hard to understand, let alone write a blog about, but I think I now have at least a little bit of a better understanding of what a transcendental self is. I now understand why it took Whitman so long to write Leaves of Grass and why he revised it so many times because defining your transcendental self is no easy task.
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