Divinity, Sexuality and the Self in Whitman’s Song of Myself

nbsp;Divinity, Sexuality and the Self in Whitman’s Song of Myselfnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;Through his poetry, Whitmans Song of Myself makes the soul sensual and makes divine the flesh.nbsp; In Whitmans time, the dichotomy between the soul and the body had been clearly defined by centuries of Western philosophy and theology.nbsp; Today, the goodness of the soul and the badness of the flesh still remain a significant notion in contemporary thought.nbsp; Even Whitmans literary predecessor, Emerson, chose to distinctly differentiate the soul from all nature.nbsp; Whitman, however, chooses to reevaluate that relationship. His exploration of human sensuality, particularly human sexuality, is the tool with†¦show more content†¦nbsp; The mechanism of this integration may be one of a number of possibilities included in Whitmans work.nbsp; Whitmans notion that All truths wait in all things very broadly defines the scope of his desire to distill truth from his surroundings.nbsp; He indicates that ...all the men ever born are also my brothers, and the women my sisters and lovers, suggesting that perhaps sensual understanding of the interconnectedness of man bridges the spiritual to the corporal.nbsp; Within the context of the passage, the cause/effect relationship between sensual contact and transcendent understanding becomes clear.nbsp; His declaration that I believe in the flesh and the appetites, Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles reinforces the concept that truth is directlyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Walt Whitmans Leaves Of Grass And Song For Myself1068 Words   |  5 PagesMichelle C. Sipalay Professor Lesley Ginsburg ENGL3350 20 November 2017 Song for Myself, Sung for Others Notable American author Walt Whitman, with his piece Leaves of Grass/Song for Myself, was and continues to be a source of critique. Leaves of Grass was received as a riveting, revolutionary piece that overstepped many spiritual boundaries during the timeframe in which the composition was published. The text, released in 1855, was birthed into a world where religion was a rigid tradition, in whichRead MoreWhitman and Homosexuality Essay3150 Words   |  13 PagesWhitman and Homosexuality While responses to Whitmans poetry have always been diverse in some ways, the interpretations of his homosexuality can be divided into three stages. In general terms, Whitmans earliest critics tried to deny Whitmans deviance; later critics accepted his homosexuality yet framed it as a marginalized truth; and contemporary critics have exploded in response to these years of oppression, outing Whitman in loud declarations of his intense feelings for men. Read MoreHow Fa Has the Use of English Language Enriched or Disrupted Life and Culture in Mauritius15928 Words   |  64 Pagesthat she is still uncertain. Reply 2. [pic]John Yi says: July 13, 2011 at 5:18 pm 20 Walt Whitman Walt Whitman shares his view on the question concerning the present life of individuals in his poem part 20 of â€Å"Song of Myself†. His first stanza begins with the query pertaining to the mechanics of the human body, â€Å"Who goes there? †¦ How is it I extract strength from the beef I eat?† (389-390). Whitman ponders deeply on why food is a necessity for man to function. As