I will be the first to say poetry is an area I struggle in, and I almost always find myself stressing over uncovering the meanings of poems. That being said, there are two lines that I feel best represent the poem as a whole.
The first section is lines 36 and 37 “you shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, / You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.” the description of filtering things from yourself caught me off guard. I couldn’t tell if he intended it as a person should also separate themselves from what they are seeing/experiencing and be objective, or (probably more likely) if they should filter these things through themself to create a subjective experience. Poetry tends to favor a subjective approach to the world, so I’m more inclined to go with the latter. If it is intentionally vague and not just my own failure to understand, I think its interesting that he sets it up as the “origin of all poems” (lines 33-34). It also potentially supports the emphasis of the individual in the process of creating a poem. the ideas of unity and the individual are heavily present throughout the poem.
The second line I found interesting is in the final stanza of section 15, “And these tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them, / 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” (Lines 327-329). These lines stuck out to be as capable of encapsulating a lot of the message of the poem. The idea that he weaves this representation of himself not just from the things he experiences, but of the experiences of others he might interact with or see or never know exist. even though they are not necessarily his experiences, they make up the human experience which unites all humans together.
The first section you mention, lines 36-37, also stuck out to me. I interpreted this quote as reflecting his belief on the importance of individual experience and perspective. When he says, “You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,” he is asserting his own independence and suggesting that others should not blindly accept his opinions or views. Instead, he encourages people to “listen to all sides and filter them from yourself,” which I took as meaning they should consider different perspectives and ideas, but in the end, make their own judgments based on their own experiences and understanding. If my interpretation is correct, Whitman seems to lend a lot of power to individual thought and the importance of personal interpretation in shaping one’s understanding of the world.
I love this post, Kathleen! I also took interest in that stanza from section 15, as I found the entire section promoting the autonomy of reader and object. I like the idea of objects being “inward” to the speaker, forming some part of his character, while he remains “outward” to them. I’d like to think that idea factors into how certain things, places, and ideas transform our individuality by staying with us while remaining typical or unnoticed to others.
I agree with you that in section 15 Whitman is trying to talk about the universality of the human experience. I think you could also interpret it as a commentary on the nature of living in society. When he says “these tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them”, he could be referring to the relationships between people in society, and how we interact with each other. By saying “and of these one and all I weave the song of myself”, I think he could be saying that our personality and identity is heavily influenced by society, and that one can’t really separate oneself from the environment which one lives and was raised in.