These Come to Me Days and Nights and Go From Me Again but They Are Not the Me Myself

Trippers and askers surround me,
People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the ward
and city I live in, or the nation,
The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and
new.
My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love, (70)
The sickness of one of my folks or of myself, or ill-doing or loss or
lack of money, or depressions or exaltations,
Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtful news,
the fitful events;
These come to me days and nights and go from me again,
But they are not Me myself.

Apart from pulling and hauling stands what I am, (75)
Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,
Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain
rest,
Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next,
Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it.

Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog with
linguists and contenders, (80)
I have no mocking or arguments, I witness and wait. (Whitman)

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In Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself", the reader is presented with a numerous sections which, at first glance, appear to occur at various points in his life for each section is vastly different on the surface, providing an illusion of variety and therefore being unrelated. After another reading of the poem, this illusion is proven to be false for the similarities across the many sections become clear. The most profound of these similarities is that Walt Whitman is an observer and through the utilisation of his senses, Whitman correlates his surroundings and the behaviours of the people within them to the social hierarchy and important events that are happening all around him. These correlations, combined with the descriptive language and blank verse that he uses, Whitman creates a vivid picture in the mind of the reader as they go through every section, with section four being no exception.

The fourth section opens with the speaker, almost certainly Whitman himself, describing the people that inhabit not only the world but the community itself, how their various backgrounds and the important events that are happening at the time tend to subliminally determine our character through the way to which we respond to them in society. The descriptive language in these opening lines immediately sets the atmosphere for the section, for Whitman remarks that,

Trippers and askers surround me,
People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the ward
and city I live in, or the nation, (ll. 66-67)

The people with whom the speaker is interacting with are defined by two succinct terms: "tripper" and "asker".  A tripper, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary or OED, is "one who goes on a trip, or short journey or voyage for pleasure; an excursionist" ("Tripper," def. 4a).

 (Busy Wharf)

These "trippers" appear to be those who are questioning their surroundings, culture, or the truths they are being prescribed and they are therefore venturing abroad in the hope of discovering the validity of these circumstances or perhaps defining their own truth. These people depart with an understanding of their culture and upon their return, bring new information, ideas, beliefs, etc. that subtly change that same culture to which they departed from.In regards to an "asker", the OED defines an asker, as "a person who asks for an answer or information; a questioner, an enquirer" ("Asker," def. 1).

 (Wheeler)

These "askers" that the speaker encounters are a mixture of people seeking answers or opinions and those whom merely want to make small talk through discussing personal matters.

The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and
new.
My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love, (70)
The sickness of one of my folks or of myself, or ill-doing or loss or
lack of money, or depressions or exaltations,
Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtful news,
the fitful events; (ll. 68-72)

The descending emphasis which the speaker places upon the barrage of these various topics makes clear his view point on them. At first, the topics of the questions being asked are impersonal, as in line 68 where they are discussing important events in the sciences, other societies, and new literary works. The topics in lines 69 through 71, are transitioning into the realm of the personal because they are discussing what he is eating, wearing, who his lover is, and inquiring as to the health of his family and wealth. Lastly, the topics of the questioning in line 72, despite being impersonal to those asking, are discussing the war and the dreadful wait for news about family fighting in it, which strikes a nerve in the speaker, thus making the topics personal. The speaker's feelings are cleverly expressed by Whitman in the form of a semi-colon; the usage of the semi-colon is brilliant for it sends the reader reeling due to its usage being vastly different to the mixture of commas and enjambments that Whitman was uses in lines 69 through 71. This usage of the semi-colon also adds detail to the mental imagery because it acts as a barrier to the flow of questions and appears to bring the speaker back to the present, drawing him away from his thoughts and allowing him to regain his composure, which he does in lines 73 and 74.

These come to me days and nights and go from me again,
But they are not Me myself. (ll. 73-74)

These last two lines are an indicator of the personal strength of the speaker for despite these questions being asked of him repeatedly and over a lengthy period, he refuses to allow the questions define him, "they are not Me myself." (l.74).

Throughout the first stanza of section four, the speaker is making observations of the various people in the community and how they behave within society. However, the general feeling is that the speaker is not making these observations in real-time; as discussed earlier, these observations are flowing, from personal topics to impersonal, and then they hit the semi-colon brick wall, jolting the speaker out of his thoughts. This theory of memory versus real-time is given credence throughout the second stanza, starting with line 75, "Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am," (l.75).  As defined by the OED, the word "apart" is, "away from others in action or function; separately, independently, individually." ("Apart," def. 4a). In accordance to this definition, line 75 is clearly expressing that the speaker is currently away from the "pulling and hauling" of these observations is where he is standing, that he is not actively making those observations (l.75). The usage of adjectives in the succeeding line, line 76, provides the reader with the feeling of the speaker returning to himself after being lost in a train of thought, "Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary," (l. 75). The usage of verbs in the lines following line 76, those lines being 77 through 79, support the previous descriptors by providing the actions of the speaker coming back to himself,

Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain
rest,
Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next,
Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it. (ll. 76-79)

This description of the speaker is his way of expressing this moment, for he is "looking down" at how he is standing, mentioning how he, "is erect, or bends an arm on a impalpable certain rest" (l. 77). As defined by the OED, to be erect is to be, "upright, in an upright posture; not bending forward or downward" ("Erect," def. 1a). Therefore, the usage of the term "erect" is in reference to his stature, as is the rest of the line, "or bends an arm on a impalpable certain rest" (l. 77). This referencing to stature alludes to the speaker making observations of his surroundings at any time, the only difference being the presence of mind; when he is "erect", the speaker is standing at attention, actively observing his surroundings, whilst when he, "bends an arm on a impalpable certain rest", the speaker is in relaxing his structure and is subconsciously making the observations.

(Opera Chic)

This mindset, that is in correlation with stature, is supported by line 79 where the speaker says that he is, "Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it." (l. 79).  By saying this, the speaker is admitting that this correlation his presence of mind on the "game" of making observations is subject to changing between the conscious and subconscious, between merely "watching" his surroundings and actively "wondering" about them (i. 79).

The second to last line of section four, line 80, has the speaker losing himself to his thoughts once more, for he is remembering "backward" to his younger days, when he, "sweated through fog with linguists and contenders" (l. 80). As defined by the OED, to have sweated is to have been, "employed in very hard or excessive work at very low wages; oppressively overworked and underpaid" ("Sweated," def. 2). This terminology is evidence of the speaker being Whitman, for his writing is a break away from that of his contemporaries and he would have to "work hard" to continually break that mould (Singley). Similarly, the observations made earlier in the section, those about the "trippers" and "askers", are being subconsciously compared and the speaker reaches the conclusion that, "I have no mocking or arguments, I witness and wait." (l. 81).

In Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself", the reader is presented with a numerous sections which, at first glance, appear to occur at various points in his life for each section is vastly different on the surface, providing an illusion of variety and therefore being unrelated. However,  after another reading of the poem, this illusion is proven to be false for the similarities across the many sections become clear. The most profound of these similarities is that Walt Whitman is an observer and through the utilisation of his senses, Whitman correlates his surroundings and the behaviours of the people within them to the social hierarchy and important events that are happening all around him. When these correlations are combined with the descriptive language and blank verse that is characteristic of Whitman's writing, vivid scenes are created in the mind of the reader as they go through every section and section four is not exempt from this.  Throughout section four, the reader is being regaled by the speaker, who is almost certainly Whitman himself, on the correlations between his observations of the people in the world around him and his observations of events in his life, whilst simultaneously conjuring the feeling as though we are in a set of memories, not in real-time.

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Works Cited*

"Apart." Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Dictionary, Oxford UP,  http://www.oed.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/view/Entry/9030?rskey=knb9Yl&result=2&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.
"Asker." Oxford English Dictionary, http://www.oed.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/view/Entry/11521?rskey=aDVHfH&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.
Busy Wharf Scene, New York City in Early 19th Century. 1910. Librar of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b13229/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016.
"Erect." Oxford English Dictionary, http://www.oed.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/view/Entry/63923?rskey=8qwvln&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.
Opera Chic. A man is leaning a railing with other men around him and a girl in the window. 2009. Typepad, OperaChic, operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/2009/03/helen-levitt-19132009-what-do-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-new-york.html. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016.
Singley, Carol. "Walt Whitman." Critical Methods in English. Rutgers University, 8 Sept. 2016, Camden, NJ.
"Sweated." Oxford English Dictionary, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/195615?redirectedFrom=sweated#eid. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.
"Tripper." Oxford English Dictionary, http://www.oed.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/view/Entry/206336?rskey=KvCODo&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.
Wheeler, A. Autumn & Winter Fashions for 1849 & 1850. 1849. Whitman's Brooklyn, whitmans-brooklyn.org/portfolio/mid-century-fashions/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass and Other Writings: Authoritative Texts, Other Poetry and Prose, Criticism. New York, Norton, 2002.

*Wordpress would not let me use proper formatting and all attempts to manually fix this problem failed.

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