Artifact 2 - Close Reading
Death is a part of life. As odd as it sounds, you cannot experience life without death. You are likely to have family die during your life. You are likely to experience the death of a friend or a pet, and at the end, you will die as well. As morbid as this sounds, death does not have to be a sad thing. Walt Whitman, in his poem Song of Myself, says, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.” [Song of Myself, stanza 52, page 78] He thinks of death as becoming one with the Earth on a different level than is possible during life.
He uses the word “bequeath,” which is not a word we see often in modern text. To bequeath something means to impart, leave, or bestow it. Whitman uses it in reference to himself, saying that when he dies, he wants to become part of the grass and part of nature. He wishes to impart what is left of him onto the Earth. He uses the symbolism of dirt, grass, and looking under one’s feet to show death and how it does not have to be a sad thing.
Whitman speaks a lot on solidarity in Song of Myself. He touches on nature quite a bit. He pairs the two together and talks about how they apply to his life. He listened to nature. He spent a lot of time on his own in the grassy fields and in the woods. He is very similar to Henry David Thoreau in that sense. Perhaps Whitman looked up to Thoreau and was inspired by Thoreau’s piece, Walden.
Death is a part of life. It is scientific, mathematic, emotional, spiritual, and many other things. Whitman makes it very clear by using this quote that death does not have to be the end of things. Your soul can live on in any way you want it to. Whitman chose for his soul to live in the grass and among the flowers. What will you choose?
He uses the word “bequeath,” which is not a word we see often in modern text. To bequeath something means to impart, leave, or bestow it. Whitman uses it in reference to himself, saying that when he dies, he wants to become part of the grass and part of nature. He wishes to impart what is left of him onto the Earth. He uses the symbolism of dirt, grass, and looking under one’s feet to show death and how it does not have to be a sad thing.
Whitman speaks a lot on solidarity in Song of Myself. He touches on nature quite a bit. He pairs the two together and talks about how they apply to his life. He listened to nature. He spent a lot of time on his own in the grassy fields and in the woods. He is very similar to Henry David Thoreau in that sense. Perhaps Whitman looked up to Thoreau and was inspired by Thoreau’s piece, Walden.
Death is a part of life. It is scientific, mathematic, emotional, spiritual, and many other things. Whitman makes it very clear by using this quote that death does not have to be the end of things. Your soul can live on in any way you want it to. Whitman chose for his soul to live in the grass and among the flowers. What will you choose?