Carnival Post: Conglomerated Thoughts on Whitman

Personally, I really enjoyed learning about Walt Whitman and his works. His thoughts are intriguing, and can make one think deeply about simple things (such as grass). For one to write a famous poem, solely on grass, has talent. Anyways, most of the classmates agreed with me about Whitman’s talent. Even though not everyone felt the same way, it’s important to see both sides of view! Whitman talks a lot about how diversity is a positive thing, and in this instant it is as well.

Some of the classmates who mentioned that Whitman was interesting and enjoyable also talked tended to talk about how he paints beautiful pictures with his words. Tanisha talked a lot about how his imagery of grass really excited her, and made her appreciate it more. Another interesting subject that was talked about in regards to Whitman was the fact that he celebrates the individual. Julia wrote, “His opening words of Song of Myself (1) express how he celebrates each individual and the art possessed within our souls. It is not a statement derived from egotistical intentions but rather a call for people to recognize the potential they have as unique individuals.” Whitman chooses to dwell on the positives of the “self” rather than shooting them down. I’m not sure if he is leaning towards narcissism, but I would hope not.

Esther’s thoughts towards Whitman were a little different than most of the ones I read, but I appreciate her thoughts. She talks about how Whitman was pretty egotistical. She mentions his lines, “Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am touch'd from/The scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer/This head more than churches, bibles, and all creeds.” She also comments that she could be taking his poetry to literally, but I agree that he can come off as narcissistic. Esther also wrote, “He simply seems to be singing the praises of humanism to the extreme - that we as humans can be completely satisfied in this world and in ourselves through gratifying all of our desires. "I believe in the flesh and the appetites/Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me is a miracle”.  He could be focused more on humanism, rather than the power/control of God, but I didn’t pick that up by reading them. Reading her post makes me second guess Whitman though, because those lines do seem almost too bold.

Tanisha took a different swing on things, and focused on how Whitman makes simple things seem powerful. She wrote, “Whitman not only provides great imagery throughout his poems, but he also leaves reminders for what is important”.  I agree with this. When he writes on creation, he really seems to be thankful for it and it also makes me more thankful for it. His writing makes me want to take life more simple, and focus on what’s important. Andrew wrote, “He has some really interesting undertones to some of his poems, undertones that seem to be much more suited to the culture of today than the 1800s. That aside, he paints some beautiful word pictures.” He seems to think that Whitman write with solid imagery, but Andrew also debated whether or not Whitman was writing in praise to God, or just praise to creation itself. All of these opinions of Whitman are valid, and I side with both. I do think that Whitman had an artist’s hand when writing poems because he does paint a beautiful picture of creation. On the other hand he does seem very consumed with himself. Either way I’m thankful for his work, and hope that he wrote with good intentions rather than giving himself glory.