Journal #37

I thought that the article “Whitman's Language of the Self” was quite interesting and truly captured many of the ideas that Whitman tried to convey in his years of writing. Bauerlein notes that Whitman is in fact often regarded as quite egotistical and self-centered but understands that this was a part of capturing his image of Self. The quote from Richard Poirier seemed to be directly related to Whitman's writing, that style is like a leaf of the tree of self, even though it was never aimed at any one author. This seems to be the exact means in which Whitman portrayed his message because his style of using free verse and structure less narrative seems to come from his conveying of the idea of Self that was included in all of his works. Bauerlein touches on Whitman's past that drastically affected his writing. Coming from an abusive father, an ignorant mother, and his homosexuality were all factors that made him the writer he was, as well as caused him to have a focus on personal Self in all of his literature. Some of his works directly address his feelings towards his parents, which made them all the more powerful. One quote in the essay mentions that Whitman did not really care much for the words he used, the rhyming, or the structure as long as the message he wanted to tell was told. This ended up creating a unique style that set him apart from other poets, but his subject matter was enough to make him great. Even without following any particular style, Whitman still was able to convey his idea of Self and Personality. Although this did seem a bit self-centered and egotistical, he portrayed an idea that became a very important part of literature and philosophy. Bauerlein encompassed all of the characteristics of Whitman's writing that made him one of the best, if not the most important American poets of his time and for all time.