“I am not the poet of goodness only, I do not decline to be the poet of wickedness also…I moisten the roots of all that has grown” (209).
In “Song of Myself” Whitman creates an all-inclusive perspective that unites him with all women and men in their positive and negative qualities. Through various descriptions of the peoples that comprise America, he includes men from “every rank and religion,” from philanthropists to criminals, etc. (204). As a result, one can see how he does not place one person before another. Also, one can better understand the scope of America’s diverseness and Whitman’s inclusiveness. Whitman describes how he considers all men valuable and significant to society. Thus, he includes even those with lesser morale and invites all men to his table “equally set” (205). Because he does not place himself on a pedestal and as a morale superior, he can join the jail cell of a prisoner. Although Whitman often acts as a prophet-like figure, he brings himself down to earth in this segment to unite himself with his fellow women and men.
After Whitman equalizes men, he offers assistance to them, and in particular, to criminals. In effect, he places himself on their level. To represent America, Whitman presents himself as a similar bundle of contradictions, and as someone who embodies good and evil. His embodiment of both good and bad permits him to stand in the cell of a prisoner and to offer the poor man the aid he needs for self-improvement. It also paints Whitman as equip to “moisten” the “roots” of society and to serve as a poet who represents America’s in its differing qualities which prove significant and necessary for diversification (209). As Whitman strips himself of a holier-than-thou nature, he equalizes women and men and himself amongst them. The chant-like nature of his writing contributes to this sense of honesty and openness which characterizes his poetry. Therefore, Whitman embraces maliciousness and benevolence in society; in doing so, he becomes a poet of the people and symbolic of America’s expansive nature.
Great reflection on Whitman’s radical identification with all–both good and evil. This is one of the most powerful gestures in Whitman, and also one of the most maddening. Especially as we move on to the modernist poets, we come to see that this sensibility is cast as naive, if not damaging. It shows a lack of understanding of what evil entails (which the 20th century showed in such devastating detail) and also an inability to advocate, to make distinctions. This make poets like Martin Espada, who latch on to a certain Whitmanian poetry of witness that is rooted in certain moral claim, all the more interesting.