Question

Listen to the audio clip of poem 1 from "Song of Myself." Then read the text.

from "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman

1

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their
parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.



Question
How does the audio version affect the experience of reading the poem?
Responses

The use of pauses between lines allows the audience to take time to understand the poem’s controversial ideas.
The use of pauses between lines allows the audience to take time to understand the poem’s controversial ideas.

The audience better understands that the meaning of the poem lies in the lines individually rather than in the poem as a whole.
The audience better understands that the meaning of the poem lies in the lines individually rather than in the poem as a whole.

The song-like, back-and-forth rhythm clearly connects the speaker to the audience and to nature.
The song-like, back-and-forth rhythm clearly connects the speaker to the audience and to nature.

The unsteady patterns and beats of the poem emphasize the speaker’s confusion about the present and concern for the future.
The unsteady patterns and beats of the poem emphasize the speaker’s confusion about the present and concern for the future.

Answer 1

The audio version of Walt Whitman's 'Song of Myself' enhances the personal connection and understanding of the poem through its rhythms, voice inflections, and the song-like quality of the reading. Therefore correct option is C

Step-by-step explanation:

When listening to an audio version of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, one experiences the poem differently than when reading it silently. Whitman's innovative style, abandoning standard meter and rhyme, might initially seem disorienting. However, through audio, the rhythms, pauses, and voice inflections contribute to establishing a more personal connection with the speaker, just as the spoken word often does.

The song-like rhythm in the reading of the poem can emphasize Whitman's connection to the audience and to nature, celebrating the commonality of human experience. The listener is invited to embody the words and internalize the poem's message, achieving a shared understanding that every atom belonging to Whitman 'as good belongs' to the audience. This enlivened delivery demonstrates the poet's celebration of the self and the universality of life's experiences.