Song of Myself - "Self"

"Self"

In the poem, Whitman emphasizes an all-powerful "I" which serves as narrator, who should not be limited to or confused with the person of the historical Walt Whitman. The persona described has transcended the conventional boundaries of self: "I pass death with the dying, and birth with the new-washed babe .... and am not contained between my hat and boots" (section 7).

There are several other quotes from the poem that makes it apparent that Whitman does not consider the narrator to represent a single individual. Rather, he seems to be narrating for all:

• "For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." (Section 1)
• "In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barleycorn less/and the good or bad I say of myself I say of them" (Section 20)
• "It is you talking just as much as myself... I act as the tongue of you" (Section 47)
• "I am large, I contain multitudes." (Section 51)

Literary critics Alice L. Cook and John B. Mason give interpretations as to the meaning of the "self" as well as its importance in the poem. Cook writes that the key to understanding the poem lies in the "concept of self" (typified by Whitman) as "both individual and universal," while Mason discusses "the reader’s involvement in the poet’s movement from the singular to the cosmic". The "self" serves as an ideal, yet, in contrast to traditional epic poetry, this identity is one of the common people rather than a hero.