Reading Response Prompts
 

These prompts are meant to get you thinking about what you have read, and to help focus your thoughts for your reading responses. You can respond to any one of them, or, if you have another idea you would rather explore, you are free to write about that instead. Do not, however, attempt to answer multiple prompts for any assignment. If you choose to pursue an idea of your own or are not writing a response that day, you should still spend at least a few minutes thinking about each of the prompts in preparation for class. For more information, review the listserv assignment.
Walt Whitman, 1855 untitled poem later titled “Poem of Walt Whitman, an American,” [1856], then “Walt Whitman” [1860], and eventually “Song of Myself” [1881-82]

In the 1855 Leaves of Grass, this poem — like all the others — is untitled. Whitman, in his notes when planning the volume, referred to all the poems simply by their first lines. In later editions, he gave this poem the title “Poem of Walt Whitman, an American” (1856 edition), “Walt Whitman.” (with the period, 1860-61 edition and 1870-71 editions), and then finally “Song of Myself” (1881-82 edition and 1891-92 “Deathbed” edition). Which of these titles do you think fits the poem best, or do you prefer the poem untitled? Why?

Free yourself of the automatic assumption that Whitman speaks here as himself, then describe the speaker of this poem. What is he like? How can you tell? What does he offer us, and what is to be our relationship to him?

At one point, Whitman says, “You conceive too much of articulation.” Given that articulating one’s thoughts is generally considered the purpose of writing, what might Whitman mean by this? What does he have against articulation? Consider what that might mean in the context of the poem. (Note: for the purposes of this post, you should not merely quote this one phrase.)

Many reviewers of the time called this an obscene poem. What passages do you think particularly offended the sensibilities of these 19th century readers? Do you find any obscene or shocking now?

 
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