Song of the Masses: A Close Reading of Whitman's Concept of the Soul Ryan Dyroff College

Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass is unique in many ways, perhaps the most significant being that it was composed over the course of his entire life, a fact that is very significant when one considers this unprecedented opportunity to witness the progression, development, and maturation of one of the greatest American authors of all time. While he seems so different from other notable authors of the era, in fact he has his finger planted so firmly on the collective pulse of the American people that he is (unwittingly or not) an effective voice for the population as a whole, regardless of whether every individual might identify with all of his views. Leaves of Grass is divided into sections, containing a multitude of gems that are each significant in their own right, for unique reasons. However, arguably one of the most significant sections of this text is that entitled Song of Myself. Despite the title of the text, Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself is in fact the author’s way of speaking for “the masses”, using the concept of “soul”, something that is generally personal and subjective, as a representation of the interconnectedness of all human beings.

In the section below, Whitman explores the universe, quite literally. It is...