Whitmans Song of Myself and The Nature of Life Essay

Whitmans Song of Myself and The Nature of Life Identifying the mystery of existence, Whitman writes Song of Myself, section six to question the nature of the life of man. He alludes to and confronts past answers to this query by utilizing as his central image the leaves of grass. In the Christian tradition, the Bible utilizes this image of grass to describe the lives of men. Isaiah, a prophet of God cries out, All men are like grass . . . and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, . . . but the word of the Lord stands forever (Isaiah 40:6-8). The scriptural image of men as grass, the handkerchief of the Lord, places man in relation to God and establishes the transient,†¦show more content†¦Continuing the theme of hope, Whitman later describes grass as the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven, and then again as a child . . . the produced babe of vegetation. Grass then becomes an image of future hope, the future hope of man. Whitman continues to present the scriptural understanding of mens lives in order to respond and critique this image of man. He proceeds to refer to grass as the handkerchief of the Lord . . . bearing the owners name somewhere in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose? Genesis 1:27 asserts God created man in his own image. This image of man as the handkerchief of the Lord alludes to the biblical understanding that men are made in the image of God, bearing his mark so that man may ask Whose? and be directed to know and choose God. Whitman answers this Biblical understanding in the next image of grass sprouting alike in broad and narrow zones. This line refers to the scripture Matthew 7:13-14, Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. This scripture indicates that man must choose a God s path or face destruction. Whitman instead insists that grass or life, sprouts equally well in any path and in any people. He goes on to claim the smallest sprout shows thereShow MoreRelatedResist Much, Obey Little1375 Words   |  6 Pagesprevious ones. The novel, inclusive of his widely recognized poem â€Å"Song of Myself†, composed of fifty-two sections, is considered an American landmark in literature. The collection offers profound, universal ideas dealing with significant transcendental concepts such as self-love, nonconformity within a society, the ideas that God exists within everything and beyond, and that true comprehension of life involves true appreciation of nature. 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