There are many themes displayed in Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself." I constantly saw the reoccurring tme of oneness with everything, "I am the poet of the body and I am the poet of the Soul, the Pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me...I am the poet of the woman as same as the man..." Also Whitman continually points out the celebration of his existence, "I exist as I am, that is enough, if no other world is aware I sit content...and whether I come to my own to-day or in ten-thousand or ten-million years, I can cheerfully take it now or with equal cheerfulness I can wait." "A Woman Waits for Me," has and overlying theme of passionate desire for woman. He shows that it's not just because she's everything he needs physically, but also everything existence needs. "I am for you, and you are for me, not only for our own sake, but for others' sakes; Envelop'd in you sleep greater heroes and bards,They refuse to awake at the touch of any man but me." He burns for her as he burns to place his life giving substance within her womb.
The settings change throughout Whitman’s poem, "Song of Myself," and the setting is constant in, "A Woman Waits for Me." In, "Song of Myself," it is quite difficult to pinpoint one specific location because there are many recollections in many different places. For example, at one point on the poem, he witnesses the marriage of the trapper and the red girl, "I saw the marriage of the trapper in the open air in the far west, the bride was a red girl...:" In another episode, he recounts a woman secretly watching twenty-eight young men bathe. "She owns the fine house by the rise of the bank, she hides handsome and richly drest aft the blinds of the window..." If I had to choose one main setting I suppose I would choose Walt Whitman's progressive consciousness. As foe, ""A Woman Waits For Me," there was no setting mentioned, though I would assume the love-making would occur in a romantic bedroom somewhere because the poem speaks of sex in a romantic way.
In both, "Song of Myself," and, "A Woman Waits for Me," the main character is Whitman, though in "Song of Myself," he employs the use of many other people to describe who he is. "In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barley-corn less..." He goes on to say that he is young and old, rich and poor, strong and weak; Walt Whitman transcends the boundaries most people place on themselves. In "A Woman Waits for Me," the only other character mentioned is woman and he describes her as, "...ultimate in their own right--they are calm, clear, well- possess'd of themselves." She is essentially a necessity for him, a jewel.
Both poems display lots of imagery as a result of Walt Whitman's spectacular way with words. "The suicide sprawls on the bloody floor of the bedroom, I witness the corpse with its dabbled hair..." this quote shows some of the brilliant imagery found in Whitman's writing. Figurative language is also very prevalent in Whitman's writing. "Through you I drain the pent-up rivers of myself..." and this statement is a metaphor for ejaculation while still penetrating the womb. He carefully and tastefully describes an event very easy to pervert if not approached with the right language. In both poems diction is elevated and the words are well placed. I love how he lists words to describe a single thing. For example, in "A Woman Waits for Me," Whitman lists words to describe that "Sex contains all, Bodies, Souls, meanings, proofs, purities, delicacies, results, promulgations, songs, commands, health, pride..." He does a similar action in, "Song of Myself." "Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary..." I believe he uses this technique to broadly describe a normally simple word by adding more depth to its meaning. As I read this poem on a kindle, it seemed to be organized in sections instead of pages. The theme is repetitive and also a few lines in each poem contain repetition. In "A Woman Waits for Me," the narrator says, "I see...I see.." and in the "Song of Myself," he says, "God is the...God is the..." which contribute to the impact of the statements after the repeated phrase.. There isn't much use of sound device in either poem. In Whitman's poem "Song of Myself," the narrator is Walt and he talks directly to you the reader. His attitude is one that inspires you to think independently. "A Woman Waits for Me," has Walt speaking, at first, to an audience, but by the end, he employs the word 'you' which also alludes to the fact he may be talking directly to the woman.
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