Is this another reference to death? The Christian idea of meeting God in heaven/afterlife? We don't know when death will take us or when we will next encounter God? Maybe this even is a reference to the second coming...

God is everywhere, and while I may at one point find God in one place, at some point I may have to search other areas, people, or things to find God.

This strikes me as VERY God-like. I struggle with conceptualizing God ("you will hardly know who I am or what I mean"), but in my Catholic view, God represents love, or as Whitman says here, "good health."

Circle of life--at the beginning Whitman talks about the grass growing from graves, and now he says to look for him under shoes--is he dead?

The moon, sun, and stars are often seen as divine, and so call to mind the divine: but in addition, Whitman saying that he "ascends" from these celestial bodies and images also implies the view of heaven or God in the sky --> thus, this could also serve as Whitman taking on the role of God.

Very Catholic view: death is not to be feared, and there is no way that death doesn't come as a friend, because there is always something good to come.

This is a very comforting view of God, rather than an Old Testament God. In this view, God is at work in the world, in the faces of all the people and there are signs of God's goodness all over. It also serves to emphasize the view of God being omnipresent (a view which Whitman himself sometimes takes on).

This feels almost as though it's a plea to make people THINK he's at peace, when he really isn't. He's mentioned this before, and it feels like he is defending himself: if he really was at peace, he wouldn't be talking about it so much or feel like he has to defend himself.

bold statement for the time

I don't love this. Whitman assumes he can speak for others, even as he argues he isn't--he's just acting as someone else's voice (problematic).

This is healthy rhetoric: wanting his students to chart their own course, and that which they do is dependent on no one but themselves (their teachers help, but do not pave the path for them).

This is an interesting juxtaposition. When I think of someone embarking on (or just on) a journey, I don't usually think of people being called to listen or observe the journey (maybe I'm thinking of a spiritual or personal growth journey, but still).

The final version of "Leaves of Grass" was published in 1892 and referred to as the "deathbed version." The deathbed edition didn't contain any edits (the difference was that several poems were added at the end), but if I hadn't looked into this, I would've thought Whitman had written this at the end of his life, as I feel like people often seem to appreciate death in old age as they near it.

Frug, Stephen. “The Evolution of Section 1 of Walt Whitman's ‘Song of Myself.’” The Evolution of Section 1 of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself", 1 Jan. 1970, http://stephenfrug.blogspot.com/2012/07/evolution-of-section-1-of-walt-whitmans.html.

the moment before death?

"the highest or most critical point or stage (as of growth or development)"

“Acme Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

Whitman offers a explanation here, possibly, for "Song of Myself" as a whole and an interpretation of its ambiguity, complexity, and incohesive nature. Whitman himself doesn't know really what the meaning of his poem is, and rather, it seems that in going back to the universal nature of the poem, he's using this poem as an invitation to readers to explore the "Unknown" with him: whatever that means (nature, God, the world, people, humanity, etc.)

The "it" Whitman is referring to here is mentioned above: "The past is the push of you, me, all, precisely the same"

In a different sense, this reminds me of Isaac Newton's discovering of centripetal force shortly before Whitman's time. I wonder if there is any connection here?

Speaks to Whitman's relationship with God... more on this to come. But I find this interesting pertaining to his later comments about God

impressive self-awareness, juxtaposed with his 52-section poem

We mentioned this in class, but this entire scene gives a sort of "Father Christmas" vibe to Whitman. He is sitting in the center of a town (although he is one of the citizens--unlike Santa in this regard), gathering people around and appreciating life and its intricacies around him

This seems very quintessential Whitman: the center of attention, talking to a crowd, but addressing each person gathered there, making a space for all people.

is this a comment on gender?

interesting... I looked this up and (info coming from not the most reliable website) it seems as though this spelling may just have been one of Whitman's idiosyncracies. No real reason behind it, just a quirk of Whitman's

Clark, Brooke. “Walt Whitman – Wow – Canada!” Wow, https://wowcanada.wordpress.com/tag/walt-whitman/.

interesting insertion of onomatopoeia "wheeze" "cluck" "swash"

This is a half-formed thought, but I wonder if Whitman offers a narration of a battlefield on land as well as one on the sea as a comparison to his appreciation of nature and the ocean?

This stuck out to me, knowing Whitman was a nurse, but when I checked, Leaves of Grass was first published (1855) several years before Whitman became a nurse (1862-63 or so). This is interesting, therefore, that he includes this line, as we later saw (in reading DrumTaps) that Whitman zooms in on this experience of caring for people in the hospital.

Walt Whitman, https://www.aahn.org/whitman.

I was interested to see why Whitman spent time talking about the war between Mexico and Americans in Texas. It seems that Whitman was a big supporter of the battles against Mexico, and so he memorialized those who died in this section of the poem. However, the Whitman archive notes that in reality, 342 men were shot (Whitman incorrectly states the number as 412).

Shively, Charley. “The Walt Whitman Archive.” Charley Shively, "Mexican War, The" (Criticism) - The Walt Whitman Archive, https://whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_540.html.

All of these comments are interesting given the contextualization of the time: it's just a few years prior to the civil war, and the country is divided. Whitman may be anticipating the beginning of this war, and therefore makes reference to the aspects of one, and plays into the senses: the sounds and sights of a battlefield.

This section was problematic for me. Whitman in no way has lived many (or any, really) of these experiences that for some are very, very real. A few lines further down, he says, "I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person." This may be an attempt at empathy, but it is a poor one: I dislike what Whitman says here and perhaps he meant it to come across a different way, but I didn't experience this. It feels very white-washed and privileged, to say that he has "experienced" himself the burning of witches or the torture of enslaved people.

interesting contradictions here. "old-faced infants" "lifted sick" "sharp-lipp'd unshaved men" none of these seem to go together

problematic?!?!

"a usually temporary encampment under little or no shelter"

"Bivouac Definition & Meaning." Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bivouac

juxtapose this with Whitman's "I love all, especially those unknown to me" rhetoric

I don't love this "pleasure" with women both beautiful and ugly (that's basically what Walt is saying) without any inclusion of men or anyone else. Weird to include these two lines

I like this set of four "wheres" because it really describes, I think, a breadth of the country: places where there are winters with snow and ice, the south with its marshes, those with katydids and swimming, etc.

This is confusing. What's going on here?

it's interesting that he includes this line in the middle of so much talk of observing animals, nature, and other non-people beings and objects. This feels like it ought to go at the end, but maybe, again, that is Whitman's intention: human life is right in the center of everything

follows up from the beginning of the poem

This made me chuckle (similarly to Whitman's statement that he will now "listen"). Could you really live with the animals, Walt? Could you bear not to speak and express your opinion about various matters?

This is an interesting moment. I wonder whether Whitman is trying to communicate a message to readers, asking them not to over-analyze him? If truth waits in all things, he doesn't want readers to try and draw meaning out of his poem by reading it over and over and dissecting it at the microlevel: he wants it to come to them in time. If this is true, I wonder if this is why he happened to include this bit in a random part of the poem (hidden, in a way: you'd need to be reading closely to stop and notice this section). In one light, this statement draws contrast with Whitman's public persona and tendency to talk a lot; in another light, I can see that Whitman may have been wishing to receive less publicity for this poem (and rather just wanted to express his thoughts and appreciation of nature).

licentious: "lacking legal or moral retraints"

"Licentious Definition & Meaning." Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/licentious

hard clam

interesting allegory, but I really like this a lot. Dramatic comparison but that fits with the level to which Whitman experiences life and his emotions/reactions to nature and the world. Also seems to fit with the time period he is living in, and people's interest in the movement of the planets/astronomy (i.e., Newton)

Very on-brand for Whitman."I love my fellows" in addition to the sound of his own voice, probably!

bravura: "marked by a dazzling display of skill"

“Bravura Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bravura.

Pretty bold of Whitman... doesn't seem like he's going to follow through on this. Although, maybe this means that going forward there will be more descriptions of what Whitman sees/hears/feels/senses, rather than just his own thoughts?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Psalm of Life." Written in 1838, Wadsworth wrote this after his first wife died and while thinking about how to make the best of life. The poem includes references to people living on after death, so even if they aren't remembered in their day, people's lives and their impact continue after their death. Wadsworth was an abolitionist, donating money to the cause of anti-slavery and writing "Poems on Slavery" to call out the horrific nature of enslavement. Wadsworth also wrote "Paul Revere's Ride," which connects to his multiple references to the founding fathers and the Constitution. Douglass' allusion to Longfellow makes sense given he is addressing a group of more educated people, and wants to reference someone with whom they are likely familiar.

Continental Congress: government of the 13 colonies and later the U.S.

it's interesting that there are so many edits here. it's as though Poe sees himself in this prince, and wants to make sure he is saying exactly what he wishes himself would've said.

this seems like an interesting reflection on those who die at the hands of this plague: there has to be a pause to honor those who have died, but then it has claimed so many lives and happens so regularly that people say they won't stop the next time. and yet, it's human nature to not be able to ignore suffering

using "lungs" again highlights how this clock might symbolize the ticking time left in someone's life who has the red death

it feels as though this will have some connection with the red death like the windows do, maybe something like the time someone has left to live (a half hour?) when they become sick

Like many of the narrators/characters--like Poe!--we see the voice of someone who likes the bizarre and the strange

this is interesting, because immediately what popped into my mind was covid. particularly during the months prior to the covid vaccines becoming widely available, many people were dying, and yet some people people who came from areas of privilege or positions in which they (or so they thought) didn't have to worry about suffering the more ill effects of covid would host big gatherings.

an interesting phrase that juxtaposes the idea that an abbey might be thought of as simple, only bearing the basics, with the words "amply provisioned."

prosperous

interesting, because to me, much of this story reflects the tell-tale heart, but the narrator is now that of someone on the outside (say, the neighbors in the tell-tale heart)

tell-tale heart

again, the focus on a singular eye

Poe mirrors Usher's abruptness by having the narrator relay this news in a similarly extremely abrupt way

Vigil of the Dead according to the Choir of the Church of Maguntine

Again, the focus on not only eyes, but a singular one in particular

interesting juxtaposition of language: the bold approach while trembling with fear about something else

Interesting that heart is italicized. I wonder whether this is because Poe, or the narrator, is acknowledging feelings of human connection/feeling, something we don't often see in Poe's work.

This reflection struck me because it's so true and something I've experienced often. Circumstances and the arrangement of objects can be altered just a little bit to draw them into a much brighter light, or the opposite: a much sadder, melancholy reflection. For example, a dinner table set but forgotten and dark communicates sadness and loss, while simply turning the lights on or adding candles adds a cheery sense.

His heart is a suspended lute; As soon as you touch it, it resonates.