45 pages 1 hour read

Walt Whitman

Song of Myself

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1856

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Tongues, Mouths, and Organs of Breathing

In Section 24, Whitman declares his intent to be the voice of many (“Through me many long dumb voices, / Voices of the interminable generations”). He positions himself as a spokesperson of not only the American people, but all of humanity, past, present, and future. Reflecting the weight Whitman places on physicality and the human body, organs of speaking and breathing—the mechanisms which produces sound—find special significance in “Song of Myself.”

Early in the poem, Whitman links his poetic voice with the American-ness of his tongue (“My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,” Section 1). There, the poet’s physical tongue is identified as an essential tool of his poetry, but Whitman uses the word in other senses too. For example, in Section 21 he declares his intent to translate all of human experience “into a new tongue,” this time using “tongue” as a synonym for “language.”

But to produce sound, air is needed too. Whitman also references the lungs and breathing as powerhouses of poetic composition. He marvels at “the smoke” of his own breath, his “respiration and inspiration,” the beating of his heart, “the passing of blood and air through [his] lungs” (Section 2).

Related Titles

By Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

A Noiseless Patient Spider

Walt Whitman

A Noiseless Patient Spider

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

Are you the new person drawn toward me?

Walt Whitman

Are you the new person drawn toward me?

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days

Walt Whitman

As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Walt Whitman

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

For You O Democracy

Walt Whitman

For You O Democracy

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

Hours Continuing Long

Walt Whitman

Hours Continuing Long

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

I Sing the Body Electric

Walt Whitman

I Sing the Body Electric

Walt Whitman

Plot Summary

logo

Leaves of Grass

Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman

O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night

Walt Whitman

Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

Walt Whitman

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

Walt Whitman

Study Guide

logo

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd

Walt Whitman

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd

Walt Whitman