(完整word版)song of myself自我之歌

Repetition

Alliteration

Personification

Song of Myself (自我之歌) --------Walt Whitman (realism)

I celebrate myself， and sing myself, (Self includes everything and everyone in the

universe)

And what I assume you shall assume， (I and you stands for new Americans with

democratic ideas and American spirit. the nature)

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. (embody the unity of you

and I it emphasize the closely connection of you and I)

I loafe and invite my soul，(Loafe: =loaf

闲逛Emphasize the unity of body and soul)

I learn and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. (Grass stands for

ideal, hope, it can grow at different space, so it stands for development especial the

development of human)

我赞美我自己，歌唱我自己，

我所讲的一切，将对你们也一样适合，

因为属于我的每一个原子，也同样属于你。

我闲游，邀请我的灵魂一起，

我俯首下视，悠闲地观察一片夏天的草叶。

My tongue， every atom of my blood， form‘d from this soil， this air，

Born ere of parents born here from parents the same， and their parents the same，

I， now thirty seven years old in perfect health begin，

Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance，(a state of disuse or suspension

归属待定

尤未定夺)

Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are， but never forgotten.

I harbor (怀有) for good or bad， I permit to speak at every hazard.

随便地，

Nature without check with(与….相符)original energy.

我的舌，我的血液中的每个原子，都是由这泥土这空气构成，

我生在这里，我的父母生在这里，他们的父母也生在这里，

我如今三十七岁，身体完全健康，开始歌唱，

希望不停地唱下去，直到死亡。

教条和学派先不去管，

暂且退回来，满足于它们的现状，可是决不能忘了，

我一味怀抱自然，我允许无所顾忌的诉说自然，

以原始的活力，谁也不能阻挡。

"Song of Myself" is a poem by Walt Whitman that is included in his work Leaves of

Grass. It has been credited as "representing the core of Whitman’s poetic vision."

Free verse 自由诗体 Combination of biography, sermon, and poetic meditation

The two principal beliefs embodied in this poem:

In this poem Whitman sets forth two principal beliefs: the theory of universality,

which is illustrated by lengthy catalogues of people and things, and the belief in the

singularity and equality of all beings in value. He extols whole universe and the world.

He is thinking of the self as a powerful and sensitive instrument for receiving and

expressing. He moves from himself to you to others, to all humanity all together about

him.

Walt Whitman hoped that his poem would reunite America, thereby avoiding the

civil war.

Literary styles of Song of Myself

The poem is written in Whitman's signature free verse style. Whitman, who praises

words "as simple as grass" (section 39) forgoes standard verse and stanza patterns in

favor of a simple, legible style that can appeal to a mass audience.

Critics have noted a strong Transcendentalist influence on the poem.

In addition to this romanticism, the poem seems to anticipate a kind of realism that

would only become important in United States literature after the American Civil

War.

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:

Whitman does not consider the narrator to represent a single individual.

Form：

• poetry without fixed beat or regular rhyme. Free verse

• Whitman is the first great American poet to use this form of poetry, he also

used it more skillfully than any other poet.

• he broke the conventional poetic materials, no myth, no romance, no story of

king and lords. He sings for self, common people, America, city life, nature,

etc.

Theme:

Whitman sings of nationalism and of the nature of the self in relation to the

cosmos and the meaning and purpose of birth and death. Individualism, nationalism,

and internationalism or cosmopolitanism, the three contradicting beliefs are

reasonably united.

song of Myself was the concentration of Leaves of Grass, confirming its epic

aspect and Whitman’s unique perspective and unusual artistic composition.

Fundamentally, Song of Myself is a song of freedom, democracy, equality and love. It

shows poet’s philosophical and religious thinking of life and cosmic inventory

Whitman’s Poetic Techniques

• Free verse: lack of metrical regularity and conventional rhyme

• Use of repeated images, symbols, phrases, and grammatical units

• Use of anaphora (initial repetition) in lines and “Epanaphora” (each line hangs

by a loop from the line before it)

• Contrast and parallelism in paired lines

Key Elements of His Writing

• Free verse: form and flowing lines create rolling rhymes and cadences.

• Strong, direct, everyday language that echoes the voices of common people.

• Focus on diversity of the native people and places and reflects America’s

identity.

• Celebrations of self and nature support themes that explore the identity,

nationality and transcendence in a free country.