From Song of Myself
Walt Whitman
I celebrate myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs to you
I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease.... observing a spear of summer grass.
***
I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware I sit content, And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by far the largest to me, and that is myself
And whether I come to my own today
or in ten thousand or ten million years, I can cheerfully take it now,
or with equal cheerfulness I can wait.
belongs to you.
1819—1892
Walt Whitman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and tried many jobs— from teaching to
news reporting. During the Civil War, he nursed his wounded brother and other soldiers.
In his poetry, Whitman abandoned regular rhythm and rhyme in favor of free verse that followed no set pattern.
Emily Dickinson, 1830 - 1886
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
Me
Walter de la Mare
As long as I live I shall always be My Self—and no other,
Just me.
Like a free.
Like a willow or elder, An aspen, a thorn, Or a cypress’ forlorn.
Like a flower,
For its hour
A primrose, a pink,
Or a violet— Sunned by the sun,
And with dewdrops wet.
Always just me.
1873—1 956
While still a teenager, Walter de la Mare began working on statistics in London office. Numbers were part of his daily life. By night, however, he escaped into the world of his imagination, writing poems for adults and children. In the poem “Me,” de Ia Mare writes about the mystery of being one of a kind, not a statistic.
The Speaker in Poetry
1. What specific words and phrases does each speaker use to talk about himself or herself? Write them on a chart like the one shown.
Poem Words and Phrases
"Song of Myself”
"I’m Nobody’
"Me”
2. How would you describe each speaker’s feeling about himself or herself?
3. In “Song of Myself,” what do the long lines and long sentences indicate about the speaker?
4. In “I’m Nobody,” how does the speaker use words humorously to show that Nobodies are special but Somebodies are not?
Comparing Literary Works
5. How much does each speaker concern himself or herself with how other people view him or her? Explain.
6. Which poem do you feel best expresses your idea of individuality? Explain your answer.