Song of Myself by Walt Whitman

Mr. Ross reads Section 16 of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman:

I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff'd with the stuff that is coarse and stuff'd with the stuff that is fine,
One of the Nation of many nations, the smallest the same and the largest the same,
A Southerner soon as a Northerner, a planter nonchalant and hospitable down by the Oconee I live,
A Yankee bound my own way ready for trade, my joints the limberest joints on earth and the sternest joints on earth,
A Kentuckian walking the vale of the Elkhorn in my deer-skin leggings, a Louisianian or Georgian,
A boatman over lakes or bays or along coasts, a Hoosier, a Badger, Buckeye;
At home on Kanadian snow-shoes or up in the bush, or with fishermen off Newfoundland,
At home in the fleet of ice-boats, sailing with the rest and tacking,
At home on the hills of Vermont or in the woods of Maine or the Texan ranch, Comrade of Californians, comrade of Free North-Westerners, (loving their big proportions,)
Comrade of raftsmen and coalmen, comrade of all who shake hands and welcome to drink and meat,
A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the thoughfullest,
A novice beginning yet experient of myriads of seasons,
Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion,
A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker,
Prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest.

I resist anything better than my own diversity,
Breathe the air but leave plenty after me,
And am not stuck up, and am in my place.

(The moth and the fish-eggs are in their place,
The bright suns I see and the dark suns I cannot see are in their place,
The palpable is in its place and the impalpable is in its place.)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• walt
• whitman
• poetry
• watchung
• hills
• whrhs
• porter
• ross
• song
• of
• myself

[AlLwHiTeMeAt199]

Mr.Ross read the poem in a great tone but the audio making him rather quiet should be adjusted Tim Sinnott

[GinaLovesMusic1]

I really like Mr.Ross's tone of voice when he reads Whitman's poems. It's very relaxing, along with the music. The poem itself is great; celebrating diversity and applying yourself to a bigger picture. - Gina Crowell

[popgoogle]

Whitman's words always holds something special in them that reaches out to the reader and grabs them instantaneously. even though Whitman uses "I" as the theme of the song, he mentions that the "I" is not just one person, but many others who surround us in our daily lives. the commentary on the book by Mr Ross was clear. like what he said, "by changing the singular capital letter 'I' into a GIANT HONEYCOMB" is what Whitman is trying to do in this part of the poem, maybe other parts too.

[mikdej1]

Mr. Ross's reading of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman does display how Whitman, throughout his poem, related the concept of the self not only to a singular individual, but an individual playing a role in and being a part of a diverse, dynamic community. In Section 16, Whitman's characteristic cataloging of different qualities and people does appear to be a celebration of diversity and the different experiences that go on to shape individuals and the communities they reside.

Michael DeJesus

[sportinguista117]

I realized that Whitman's poem contains much paradox within its words. Mr. Ross presented the poem in a pleasant tone. This poem talks much about the diversity of the people, which can be a good and bad thing. The background music was a good adjustment, as well.

Catarina Santos

[sk8enpysico700]

Mr. Ross read Song of Myself well. However I really liked dhis interpritation of the poem. I agree that this section is about unity. It is about how the people in America are united even if they are from diffrent states, diffrent jobs, or even diffrent genders.- Nicole Honegger

[sk8enpysico700]

Mr. Ross read Song of Myself well. However I really liked dhis interpritation of the poem. I agree that this section is about unity. It is about how the people in America are united even if they are from diffrent states, diffrent jobs, or even diffrent genders

[jrjoerocco]

I feel like that was the way it was meant to be read. I thought he did a good job of showing how Whitman felt. I also agree with Mr. Ross' interpretation and feel that this poem is talking about all the different people in the US. I couldn't really hear it sometimes though.

Joey Rocchietti

[Themuffinman824]

Mr.Ross did a good job reading this poem, but it would have been better if Mr.Porter read this. Also he should have spoken louder, because at some points I only heard the background music.

Andrew Katz

[pengelsman7]

I agree with Mr. Ross's interpretation in that it is about unity. The poem seems to be talking about the different parts of the United States and the different people. Therefore, it is showing that everyone is part of the one US and must work together to have a working country.

-Pat Engelsman