Ghosting

     Cantos 21-24 of Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’ stand out from the ones preceding them. For the first twenty or so cantos, Whitman speaks as though he is not any one person, but instead a spirit, the voice of everyone, or himself. He writes as a being, mostly, separated from one person. Whitman does this in an attempt to speak as an unbiased and non-judging party, saying that everyone is a part of a whole, has value, and is equal in a community. However, at the halfway point in the poem, Whitman assumes his body and speaks clearly as himself. He gives personal opinions about religion, sexuality, and government. He also writes of sexual and erotic experiences with nature and the Earth. Because of this, the poem becomes less of a general voice and more focused on Whitman and his views of the world. The voice of the poem becomes less representative of the world. Rather than speaking as an out of body observer, Whitman writes cantos 21-24 very personally, changing the overall voice of the piece.


Author: Savannah Brown