The first poem in Whitman's book, "Song of Myself'" (said to be the most popular of those in the book) is a poem where Whitman attempts to dissect himself as a person and also takes on the enormous task of defining the world as well. Whitman uses eloquent language and story-like depictions withing the book to further explain his understanding of the world. This poem clearly shows what kind of time period Whitman was living in; women were looked at as domesticated figures, slaves were looked at as lesser citizens, and the country was beginning to divide as the Civil War approached. The first portion of the poem is where Whitman really focuses on himself, he asks himself questions such as, "What is a man anyhow? What am I? and what are you?" (Whitman, 83). In true transcendental fashion he connects himself with nature and adds the well known Thoreau-esque opinion that one must go into nature and live amongst the wild to truly discover oneself and ones place in the world, he shows this in the quote, "I think I could turn and live awhile with the animals...they are so placid and self-contained"(Whitman, 105). This quote is ironic seeing as the general belief is that the animals are the ones that are wild, savage, and beastly. Whitman projected belief is that we humans are the ones who are the real savages. As the poem moves on Whitman circles about the difficult topic of the world. He speaks of God, humanity, and even as specific as America. This is where you begin to sense what time period Whitman is living through. Whitman, like many other writers, attempts to capture himself and his world around him in his own light with this poem. His attempt is pretty successful in my opinion and I completely understand why this poem is so popular.
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