Quotation Response 10/7

Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself" p. 83

1. "I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles."

To bequeath is to "dispose by last will." He explains here that once he dies, he will become part of the earth and grow from "the grass that [he] love[s]." His soul can simply be found beneath your feet. It is not bizarre that Whitman would say this. Passage 51 of "Song of Myself" is filled with references to nature. In the first sentences, he compares himself to a brilliant hawk, a beautiful part of nature. It seems that after his comparison, it would be fitting that Whitman would want to be part of the earth when he dies.

Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself" p. 83

2. "And such as it is to be of these more or less I am, And of these one and all I weave the song of myself."

Walt Whitman is describing how the populance and masses are part of him. In another section, he says, "I am large, I contain multitudes." Passage 15 of "Song of Myself" is like "I Hear America Singing" in that there are many different types of people and what they do. They all are part of Whitman because he is part of the populance and they are his representation.