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Whitman Sung of Sensuality Walt Whitman was at once more sensual in his imagery than any of his contemporaries. He dared to mention sensations of skin, eyes, ears and sexual organs, a things which was just not done during his time. Certainly he talks of love and sexuality too, but even his sensual imagery was often shocking to people of his time. (Encarta Encyclopedia 2006) Whitman is reputed to have been a closet homosexual, but when I read these poems I felt that he might even have been a little bisexual, because he talks about women and their bodies as well, though he seems to have favored descriptions of men. Whitman begins Songs of Myself with descriptions of his reactions to sensations of all kinds, celebrating his senses, and then invites the reader in verse two to share them, apparently up to and including sexual sensation.
Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left, ) You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, 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. (Whitman, Walt 18 XX) In verse three he speaks of watching his lover (bedfellow), probably a male, and then the bedfellow quietly leaving. Then in verse four he actually discusses his assessment of an erection: Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, 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. It is as if he is standing back and watching himself or another self is assessing what he sees and feels. Then in verse five he gets quite explicit with a description of how his lover makes love to him, including all his body parts and how the lover treats them: I mind how once we lay such a transparent summer morning, How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn'd over upon me, And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and plunged your tongue to my bare-stript heart, And reach'd till you felt my beard, and reach'd till you held my feet. The book is filled with sensual images and thoughts about them, including many sexual images, not at all surprising, since sex is a most sensual act. Whitman speaks in verse eleven of naked young men swimming and floating on their backs, and it appears that some of them have erections.
It is amusing to imagine what might have been going on as the poet watched. He describes them ion enough detail that we know they are not simply swimming innocently, yet Whitman sees total innocence here, because he seems to consider all sensuality and experience innocent exploration of who we are. Whitman observes in this poem more than anything else. He observes his senses, other people, other people observing and, most of all, his reactions to all that he feels and observes. Of course, as the poem continues, there are more images of a sexual nature and even whole descriptions of love-making. Verse twenty-eight is completely a description of love-making and the poets reactions to it, his observances about it.
Then, in the last verse of part one he wonders about his lovers reactions, and finishes by pointing out the endlessness of this cycle of life. In part two, verse thirty-two Whitman become explicit again and we can surmise from the description that his lover was a black man. Picking out here one that I love, and now go with him on brotherly terms. A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and responsive to my caresses, Head high in the forehead, wide between the ears, Limbs glossy and supple, tail dusting the ground, Eyes full of sparkling wickedness, ears finely cut, flexibly moving. His nostrils dilate as my heels embrace him, His well-built limbs tremble with pleasure as we race around and return. I but use you a minute, then I resign you, stallion, Why do I need your paces when I myself out-gallop them?
Even as I stand or sit passing faster than you. In part two Whitman moves from observing to sharing, but still including all kinds of sensations, imagining himself as everyone he sees. He speaks of war and suffering and mourns the loss of so many beautiful young men. In verse 37 Whitman even talks about sharing everything he sees, and he even reminds himself not to get lost in this. In some small way the progression of images and the way Whitman examines them is almost like a sexual act in itself.
He final describes the aftermath and sleep in verse 50 as if this whole poem represented an act of love: There is that in me -- I do not know what it is -- but I know it is in me. Wrench'd and sweaty -- calm and cool then my body becomes, I sleep -- I sleep long. At the end of verse fifty, Whitman refers to his connection with all mankind. He decides that sexuality and experiencing life is really what life is about, not understanding that sensuality, just living it.
Do you see O my brothers and sisters? It is not chaos or death -- it is form, union, plan -- it is eternal life -- it is Happiness. At this point Whitman begs god to show him differently. If you look at the poem carefully, you can see how Whitman starts with examining his own sensations, then progresses to sharing the sensations of others. This might be foreplay and bashful touch. Moving to passionate experience.
Finally he tries to make sense of all the sensations we humans experience, and he fails, but accept that he may not be able to make any sense of it. Is this the aftermath and final sleep which follow sexual activity. Is Whitman making love to his audience? Then he returns to the beginning and decides that experiencing sensation has to be enough, since he cannot see anything else as enduring as that.
He speaks of eternity and the cycle of life and feeling. He says to his contemporaries (brothers and sisters) that this is what matters, that we do feel. Is that not what we do, go in search of another quest? Sources Cited "Walt Whitman, " Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005 web 1997 - 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Wikipedia: web Whitman, Walt, Songs of Myself Insert date here
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