Walt Whitman - reflection/response about Whitman in general OR any major poem (very short n ez).

Walt Whitman 's Poem Song of Myself has the theme of suffering and death - he identified with Jesus and his fate : Whitman 's poem also has the theme of man 's new faith , hopeful expectations and energy of his days Its subject is in a state of enlightenment brought by several different moments of rapture . It has a more or less narrative sequence . These moments , their continuation in life , and the principle to which they give rise to are described and presented dramatically . The poet gives the new fervor of a hero , and

they are laid bare by consecutive recounting of his states of mind . The hero "I " does not symbolize the poet . It denotes not only a representative workingman , but also one who chooses to be idle and invite his soul . Therefore he is coarse sunburned , bearded he raises his hat as he wishes , indoors or out . His really unique characteristic is that he has been given a vision , due to which he has understood the inherent potentialities in every American and indeed , he says , in every living person . The poem gives a feeling of lacking in structure . Although it is stirring , it is uneven , repetitive and especially weak in its changeover from one theme to another . The true structure of the poem is mainly not logical but psychological There is a musical progression in the poem . Whitman ignored metre , but in general the effect has a melodic character . Whitman incorporated natural speech rhythms into poetry . There is also a firm narrative structure , one that becomes easier to understand when we divide the poem into a number of parts or sequences

The hero 's identification with Jesus and his fate is given in these lines "In vain were nails driven through my hands / I remember my crucifixion and bloody coronation / I remember the mockers and the buffeting insults / The sepulchre and the white linen have yielded me up / I am alive in New York and San Francisco / Again I tread the streets after two thouand years...