There are many ways to interpret the works of Walt Whitman. Some people see him as a visionary and one of the quintessential American poets. Others see him merely as a conceited man who overly inflates his self worth. I believe the latter more, however it is undeniable to see Whitman’s impact on American poetry and the beauty in his words. In the preface to the first edition of Leaves of Grass, Whitman states that “Of all nations the United States with veins of poetical stuff most need poets and will doubtless have the greatest and use them the greatest” (8). With this statement being included in the preface, we can see Whitman’s view of the role of the poet in American society. He believes that poets are of the utmost importance in the United States due to its “veins full of poetical stuff”. Not only does he insinuate that being a poet is the most important occupation one can partake in in the United States, he also insinuates that since the United States is so poetic in nature, the United States should be able to spawn the greatest poets. By saying this, he suggests that he is one of the greatest poets and associates with the greatest poets merely because he lives in the United States. He carries this sentiment throughout his writing and extrapolates it by suggesting that he has the sole authority of being able to fully capture the experience of every group in the United States.
In “The Song of Myself”, Whitman takes it upon himself to place himself in the mindset of an escaped slave. Whitman states: “I am the hounded slave. . . . I wince at the bite of the dogs, / Hell and despair are upon me. . . . crack and again crack / the marksmen” (65). With these lines, Whitman tries to evoke a feeling of despair and fear similar to how an escaped slave must have felt in the United States. It is also important to note the first person perspective which Whitman writes in throughout “The Song of Myself”, especially when discussing this section of the poem. Instead of using a third person perspective when describing this tale of the escaped slave, Whitman made the active decision to write in the first person perspective. This decision in his writing once again suggests his overly inflated self worth as he takes it upon himself to describe this horrific scene of the escaped slave running away from dogs and marksmen as if he was the one who was actually running away. To further this idea of being able to describe the lives of other people, Whitman later states, “I contain multitudes” (87). This line shows Whitman’s conceited nature as he believes that he is able to write from the perspective of underrepresented people due to his status of being a poet in the United States. He further shows his conceited nature later on in his poem. He states “You will hardly know who I am or what I mean, / But I shall be good health to you nevertheless” (88). Through these lines, it seems like Whitman is talking down to his reader and thinks that his readers will not be able to understand what his writings are trying to convey. Along with this, he also believes that he and his writings will provide “good health” to the reader in spite of the fact that he thinks that the readers.
Whitman, Walt. Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose. Edited by Justin Kaplan, Library of America, 1984.
While reading the biography of Whitman I have found his past experience as a journalist to coincide with what is believed to be his “conceited nature”. Now I am not saying that journalists are conceited, but I believe that the reason Whitman continuously places himself between the reader and the experience (i.e. the mindset of the slave) is because a journalists job is to be the voice of a situation so that an audience can stay “informed”. I don’t disregard your opinion of him as conceited but I believe there is a motive to this act and a prior life experience that has planned into this persona of his. For instance, if a journalist is not on the scene of a crime they have to use the information given to them and piece together the story into a believable way almost as if they were there witnessing the event. I feel as if Whitman, although he had many life experiences of his own, does this same act in his writing especially when he associates himself with the various kinds of people in life.
I think there is at least a small level of conceitedness needed in creating art. There needs to be the confidence and little bit of arrogance present for someone to produce something thinking that others will enjoy and benefit from it. Similarly to how politicians by nature must be a bit arrogant as they want people to vote for and follow the things they say and think are important. With that being said it is natural for Whitman to use his inflated ego in his poetic works, but unnatural as he uses it in excess. His switching of perspectives and claims about the world come across as if he is preaching to a cult of followers, and as if he is a prophet send to deliver Devine messages. It is as if he has a savior complex almost and must help the rest of us be as enlightened as he is. This arrogance goes way beyond the expected amount and, at least in my experience as a reader, causes the opposite effect of what he is trying to accomplish here, the resistance of believing what he as to say about the world.
I am still struggling a little bit with Whitman’s egotism myself. On one hand, it’s hard for me to accept when he so casually insists that he knows the entire human experience. As a woman, for instance, I don’t want to have a man tell me that women and men are equal, or insist so confidently that “I will show male and female that either is but the equal of the other” (Whitman 183). Since he has never actually experienced life as a woman – perhaps he saw the different ways women were treated but he never actually experienced this treatment himself – how can he tell women about THEIR own experience? At the same time, Whitman’s clear devotion to representing The United States in their totality does appeal to me. Perhaps in insisting on his own ego, he means to imply that everyone “contains multitudes” and is a sum of the American experience, not just him. He is also well aware of his ego and does not try to explain it away but highlights it as an important part of himself. I hope that further reading helps me to understand more fully the role his ego plays in his work.
The conversation about his egotism is fascinating and one I couldn’t read and not join in on… I agree with Ellie in that all artists have to have some conceit if they want to be in the game. If you, the artist, don’t believe in yourself or your human power, then nobody will buy into it intellectually or financially. Walt Whitman, to me, doesn’t seem like a dangerous narcissist who lacks empathy. I just think that, like any artist, he has a unique prospective on the world and how we all share one place. I can’t fault him in his poems because the difference between the speaker and the author of any work. Whose to say Whitman was even talking about himself when he wrote “I” in any of his poems?You can read into everything anyone says and form an opinion baed on those words, but at the end of the day nobody will every be able to put people into boxes. Because we say or do certain things doesn’t necessarily always reflect who we are as people, especially in art. THAT BEING SAID- I do think Whitman was conceited and clearly feels empowered in his writing.