What makes Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” an American poem?
Over the next several class meetings we will try to answer this question. As preparation, visit the Whitman archive and read the 1855 text of “Song of Myself”. The poem begins just above page 14 and ends with page 56. You are not required to print out all of the pages but we will be dividing the poem into sections that you will be required to bring to class. Below find which seven pages you need to bring to our next class meeting. Spend some time reading your assigned pages out loud; be prepared to read the entire poem with a small group of your classmates.
Students A, B, C, D print pages 14-20
Students E, F, G, H print pages 21-27
Students I, J, K, L print pages 28-34
Students M, N, O, P print pages 35-41
Students Q, R, S, T print pages 42-48
Students U, V, W, X print pages 49-56
If you’re nervous about reading aloud maybe John Doherty will inspire you.
Now that you’ve read to poem silently and out loud to yourself, it’s time you had a chance to hear it read to you. You’ll form into five groups to allow for a complete reading of “Song of Myself”. Take 45 minutes to read the poem and begin discussing your experiences reading the poem alone (silently or aloud) and reading it as a group. We’ll meet back here and discuss as a class. We’ll continue this discussion when we meet again.
In the meantime, take a look at 1855 street maps of New York, Paris, and London. Explore them and consider people living in those places at that time; how did they move about the city, interact with others, how likely were they to encounter someone outside of their class or community? Do these maps raise any other questions about life in the United States versus life in Europe in 1855? Be prepared to discuss these questions and how Whitman’s poem illustrates these differences.
Lastly, do a little exploring yourself. On pages 21 and 22 Whitman list several types of people and working he has seen in America, find an image of one them and their European counterpart. Write a short response (2-3 paragraphs) your 1855 American has to "Song of Myself" and questions his or her European counterpart has about the poem. The questions can be in the form of a lengthy conversation between these two people or they can simply be a list of questions. If you present this as a conversation you do not have to write the response of the 1855 American.
This is a great start! Because, imo, you're asking students to engage in inquiry . . to explore primary sources to understand something about Whitman's poem.
ReplyDeleteI think, however, that you can sharpen the assignment a bit: is it about urban life? about the emerging urban experience of the mid-19th century? This question - - "Explore them and consider people living in those places at that time; how did they move about the city, interact with others, how likely were they to encounter someone outside of their class or community?" - - seems the key one, but it also seems very general. I think you're interested in how the city is a zone of difference (and how this difference inspired Whitman's list - - that is a brilliant connection). Is there a way to focus your key question on this idea of social difference? I.e. to "read" the maps in a more focused way . . do the maps help to chart or represent social difference? Perhaps you need to add another dimension in: locate a neighborhood on the map and describe the social types or classes that lived there based on a little more digging - - via photos, various texts?
hi Angela - I like your ideas about reading maps and considering the impact of space on social relations. a fascinating topic! thinking about maps this way, and learning how to analyze them in a new way will be a great skill for your students. How might you help them learn how to analyze maps this way (which will likely be very new to them)? also, what skills are you focusing on in the out-loud readings with the students? is it related to Whitman's idea of the poem as something heard? as involving the senses?
ReplyDeletecheers! looking forward to seeing more...