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Maire Mullins, a professor at Pepperdine University, details in her article, “Diversity in Whitman: Section Thirty-Three of ‘Song of Myself,” the various poetic methods and techniques that Walt Whitman employed in his “Song of Myself”, more specifically section Thirty-Three of the work, to emphasize his passion for diversity in America and unity in nationhood. Mullins platforms most of her article for ways in which teachers can guide their discussion on Whitman to their students and how to best shape the students perception of Whitman’s writing and voice throughout “Song of Myself”. For example, Mullins believes that Whitman’s purpose in crafting not only “Song of Myself,” but his Preface, was to capture “the sheer scale of the United States” and to have his work “mirror the great diversity he witnessed in America, from the smallest speck to the widest cosmic expanse”. One of the ways in which Whitman expands upon his consistent theme of diversity and passion for America in section thirty-three of “Song of Myself” is through the technique of a series of catalogues, or long lists of various ideas and picturesque details of life in America. This method of cataloguing expands upon Whitman’s commentary on diversity because, as Stanley J. Coffman Jr. states, this poetic technique highlights the “imaginative and excited mind” of Whitman as well as how it adds “an abundance of concrete detail […] mainly appealing to the sense of sight and the sense of motion.” Mullins continues by bringing the historical context of the 1850’s into her article as a means of conveying America’s attitude towards their own nationality and how Whitman expanded upon this in his works. After referencing a section of Whitman’s Preface, Mullins claims that Whitman was deeply concerned with the disunion in America during this time and how, instead of wallowing in the despair of the broken nation, he placed his writing in the context of “inclusiveness and unity rather than sectionalism,” a prevalent theme seen throughout section thirty-three of “Song of Myself”. Mullins uses section thirty-three of “Song of Myself” as the basis for her discussion on Whitman and diversity because she believes it to be the microcosm of his work. With the various roles in which Whitman embodies throughout the catalogues of lines in section thirty-three, it shows the “speaker’s imaginative and creative power [allowing] him not just to see passively what is before him, but to perceive—an act that is both receptively open and actively responsive.” By doing so, Whitman is able to “capture the grand scope of the continental United States” and the multitudes of diverse voices inhabiting it. In closing, Mullins states that Whitman, and his section thirty-three of “Song of Myself,” gave a voice to the voiceless while also “weaving a poetic tapestry of America and Americans that is inclusive and diverse.”
Although at times Mullins framing of her article as a guide for teaching students about Whitman can distract from her thesis of the diversity in “Song of Myself,” there is still many unique thoughts that Mullins offers in her article. The analysis of why Whitman uses cataloguing for “Song of Myself” was also something that I had not considered previously. I agree with the assertion that at first glance “Song of Myself” comes across as more related to prose, but after her close reading of a portion of section thirty-three and bringing in outside research, the way in which Whitman uses line breaks and the purpose behind the technique all bring it back to poetry in the end.
Source: Mullins, Maire. “Diversity in Whitman: Section Thirty-Three of ‘Song of Myself.’” Notes on American Literature, vol. 17, no. 1, 2008, pp. 21–28. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2014288858&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Solid summary, and a very interesting article. I wonder how one can distinguish between more passive observation and the kind of perception that Mullins writes about. Where does she identify that shift, or how does Whitman activate it? This is an important section in this regard as he shifts from identification with animals and physical spaces, to the cosmos and humans, to much more particular identifications with soldiers and slaves. These scenes of death and violence seem to suggest (as Folsom notes in the criticism linked to this section that you cite) that Whitman is exploring the limits of this kind of attachment. it’s especially important for our own engagement with the poem as many of your peers have read this active identification as ringing false in certain ways. Is Whitman justified, many of you seem to ask, in holding up highly particular plights alongside what seem to be all-encompassing catalogues, or do these moments require a different kind of treatment, a different kind of attention and sympathy?
I like that you were able to take an academic article on Whitman and point to the most moving or engaging theories the author pointed out in the poem. I particularly enjoyed your selections of quotes from the article, specifically the quote about Whitman’s wanting to “mirror the great diversity he witnessed in America, from the smallest speck to the widest cosmic expanse.” There is so much to say about “Song of Myself” that I’m pleased with a deep-dive into just one section, and I think only then can you really focus on the line breaks that, like you said, “bring it back to poetry.”