An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Revisiting Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself": The Poetics of Human Self and Identity
Authors:

Article info

2014-07-06
2014-11-19
1577 - 1596

Keywords

  • Song of Myself.
  • Universality
  • Self
  • Human
  • Walt Whitman
  • Identity

Abstract

This paper explores the constituents of Walt Whitman's poetic self – soul and body; its hopes, tensions, expectations and concerns. It focuses mainly on "Song of Myself1" for it presents a web of references and implications to the poet's fragmented self and confused identity. Whitman portrays his self as such in its human and universal context, expecting other selves to identify with his. In its psychoanalytic ground, the paper also tries to shed light on the poetic anticipation that foreshadows the current hard situations that cause a lot of shocks, fragmentation, depression, uncertainty, and disappointment. According to Whitman's poetics, the absence of stable selves, the loss of hopes and the confusion on place and time provide a ground for exploring human desires and hopes of having stable selves and integrated and identified identities. This paper also studies the fusion between the self and identity as seen in the identification of the poet's self with other people's selves, in search for uniqueness, stability, and social and psychological mobility.

Recommended Citation

Kurraz, A. (2015). Revisiting Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), 29(8), 1577–1596. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007
[1]A. Kurraz, “Revisiting Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity,” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1577–1596, Aug. 2015, doi: 10.35552/0247-029-008-007.
Kurraz, Abdullah. “Revisiting Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 29, no. 8, Aug. 2015, pp. 1577–96. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007.
1.Kurraz A. Revisiting Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) [Internet]. 2015 Aug;29(8):1577–96. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007
Kurraz, Abdullah. “Revisiting Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) 29, no. 8 (August 2015): 1577–96. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007.

معاودة تأمل قصيدة "أغنية عن نفسي" للشاعر ولت ويتمان: شاعرية الذات الإنسانية وهويتها
المؤلفون:

معلومات المقال

2014-07-06
2014-11-19
1577 - 1596

الكلمات الإفتتاحية

  • Song of Myself.
  • Universality
  • Self
  • Human
  • Walt Whitman
  • Identity

الملخص

يستكشف هذا البحث – جسداً وروحاً - مكونات الذات الشاعرية للشاعر والت ويتمان؛ آمالها وتوتراتها وتوقعاتها واهتماماتها. ويركز البحث أساسا على قصيدة "أغنية عن نفسي" لأنها تعرض نسيجاً من الإشارات والتضمينات لذات الشاعر المتشظية وهويته المضطربة. يصور ويتمان ذاته على هذا النحو في سياقها الإنساني والكوني، متوقعاً أن تتماهى الذوات الأخرى مع ذاته. ويحاول البحث، وعلى أساس نظرية التحليل النفسي، تسليط الضوء على التوقعات الشعرية التي تنبأ بالأوضاع الصعبة المعاصرة التي تتسبب في الكثير من الصدمات والاكتئاب، والشكية، وخيبة الأمل. وفي ضوء شاعرية ويتمان، فإن غياب الذوات المستقرة، وفقدان الآمال و في ظل حالة من الارتباك حول المكان والزمان يوفر أرضية لاستكناه الرغبات والآمال الإنسانية في ذوات مستقرة وهويات متكاملة وواضحة. كما تبحث الدراسة في انصهار الذات والهوية كما نرى في توحد الذات الشاعرة مع الذوات الأخرى، بحثا عن الأصالة والاستقرار، والحراك الاجتماعي والنفسي.

Recommended Citation

Kurraz, A. (2015). Revisiting Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), 29(8), 1577–1596. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007
[1]A. Kurraz, “Revisiting Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity,” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1577–1596, Aug. 2015, doi: 10.35552/0247-029-008-007.
Kurraz, Abdullah. “Revisiting Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 29, no. 8, Aug. 2015, pp. 1577–96. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007.
1.Kurraz A. Revisiting Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) [Internet]. 2015 Aug;29(8):1577–96. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007
Kurraz, Abdullah. “Revisiting Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’: The Poetics of Human Self and Identity.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) 29, no. 8 (August 2015): 1577–96. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-029-008-007.

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