This paper discusses the importance of grass in American poet Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.
This paper argues that Walt Whitman utilizes the imagery of grass to convey his thoughts about men’s pursuit of happiness. It shows that the grass represents the oneness of all people in America, life, growth and death. These points are later linked to show that Whitman is actually talking about democracy, which is evident in American society.
“The complexity of a poem can be seen in its author’s utilization of convoluted, latent, poetic language, which inevitably demands a certain level of thinking, of imaginations, of interpretation. The key to extracting a poem’s meaning lies in the poet’s implementation of disparate literary devices, which brings to light the poet’s subtle, yet real, creativity. Walt Whitman, in “Song of Myself,” uses symbolism to convey the significance of a seemingly irrelevant and overlooked object. The concept of grass is perhaps among the central themes imbued in the poem, which Whitman exploits as a basis to promote a greater fascination and appreciation of ordinary things seen in all walks of life. In “Song of Myself,” Whitman, through the image of grass, attempts to capture men’s journey in the pursuit of the highest level of contentment.”