Question

critical appreciation of song of the poem

Answer 1

Answer:

Deeply influenced by the Indian Upanishads Walt Whitman, the American poet, composed such poems that give us a synthetic view of man and cosmos. And yet one can notice in his poems the assertion of individuality, the self that has industriously acquired a true sense of its infinite potential.

In this poem the poet tries to engage another human being, probably a friend, in a dialogue and asks him to pay attention to the similarities that exist between man and man. The song is thus not exactly a song of the selt, but of ‘ the discovery of the identities between one and the other. The reference to the atom that is a definite constituent of everyone is to reinforce the scientific basis of the poet’s argument.

The mood of the poet is to be taken note of he is cheerful, optimitic and full of confidence. This is in a sense the general mood of the poet, forming a whole attitude towards self and the universe.

Having advanced the argument the poet enlarges upon his relations with the world around him. He says that he just enjoys wandering, looking at even the smallest things with the greatest pleasure. This pleasure is again bom of the understanding that his body and the soil from which so many natural objects, including the summer grass which he likes so much, have sprung are formed of the same atom. One can see that such an understanding belongs not to the realm of science but to the realm of spirituality especially to the teaching of the Upanishads.

There is also a complete rejection of all philosophical theories and social ideologies which tend to divide one man from another. The poet asserts his willingness to raise voice against all such divisive forces. The poem is thus a manifesto of the poet’s participation is the world of man and nature.