“Song of Myself” is a lengthy free verse poem by Walt Whitman, a great American poet. In his poem the poet lists the series of event that describe him as “not the me myself” and seeks to understand his existence in a modern world.
Lines from the poem which describe him as “not the me myself” are:
People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the ward and city I live in, or the nation,
The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and new,
My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,
The sickness of one of my folks or of myself, or ill-doing or loss or lack of money, or depressions or exaltations,
Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtful news, the fitful events;
Herein, the poet provides us a list of things that are not him. The people he surrounds do not represent him as a person, rather he moves from place to another as a fixed being. To him “dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues” are of no matter. “These come to me days and nights and go from me again”, the poet describes that all his powerful self has overshadowed him and draws attention towards the unstoppable passage of time.
