Chapter-2
Song
of Myself
-Walt
Whitman
Biography
·
Walt Whitman was born in 1819 and died in 1892.
·
He is an American poet and known as the ‘people’s poet’.
·
He started working as a carpenter before his twelfth birthday.
·
He also worked as a printer, teacher, and editor and was volunteer
nurse during Civil War.
·
His major works include Leaves of Grass (1855) and Drum Taps (1866
·
Song of Myself is an extract from Leaves of Grass.
Summary: This poem “Song of Myself” is
composed by an American poet Walt Whitman. He is known as an individualistic
poet.
In this poem poet has presented the life of American people. He has presented
his concept of life and says that he enjoys himself and sings alone. He thinks
that the feeling all the American people are same. He also says that there is
similarity between man and in their opinion. Poet says that the atom of the
blood of every individual is same. He is thirty seven
years old and is in sound health. He hopes to stay healthy till his death. The
poet says that we should not harm the nature. It can be dangerous if we harm
the nature. Nature always looks beautiful in its original.
Objective Question
1.
How many times the word
‘you’ has been used in ‘Song of Myself’……………
a)ones
b)twice
c)thrice
2.
‘Song of myself’ is written by……………………………
a)Walt Whitman
b)Kamala Das
c)John Keats.
3.
The word ‘school’ stands for………..in ‘Song of Myself’.
a)academy
b)systems of thought
c)teaching institutes
4.
Walt Whitman was born in………………….
a)1818
b)1819
c)1820
5.
Walt Whitman died in………………..
a)1850
b)1870
c)1892
6.
Who is known as ‘People’s poet’…………………?
a)Walt Whitman
b)John Donne
c)John Keats
7.
Walt Whitman…………………….poet.
a)British
b)American
c)Indian
8.
‘Song of Myself’ is………….
a)an epic
b)a sonnet
c)free verse
9.
Walt Whitman was a……………………………..
a)carpenter
b)teacher
c)editor
d)all
10.
Walt Whitman was volunteer nurse during the…………………
a)first world war
b)second world war
c) civil war
11.
According to ‘Song of Myself’ (I Celebrate Myself) the
speaker is a great lover of………..
a)arts
b)science
c)nature
12.
‘Leaves of Grass’ is written by………………
a)John Donne
b)Rupert Brooke
c)Walt Whitman
13.
Walt Whitman first published ‘Leaves of Grass’ at his
expense in………………..
a)1855
b)1870
c)1850
14.
‘Drums Taps’ is written by………………………
a)Walt Whitman
b)Kamala Das
c)John Keats
15.
‘And what I assume you shall assume’ is taken from the
poem……………..
a)Song of myself
b)An Epitaph
c)The Soldier
16.
‘Drum Taps’ was published in……………….
a)1864
b)1866
c)1872
17.
Walt Whitman is……………….years old.
a)30
b)25
c)37
18.
The poet in song of myself………………..for himself.
a)runs
b)sings
c)paints
19.
‘I harbor for good or bad’ is written by…………
a)John
Keats
b)John Donne
c)Walt Whitman
Short Answer Type Question
1.
Who
is the speaker in this poem (song of Myself) and how old he is?
Ans. The poet is the speaker of this poem and
he is thirty seven years old.
2.
What
is the theme of the poem ‘song of myself?
Ans. The theme of the poem is universal
brotherhood and identification of oneself with every atom of the universe.
3.
What
similarities does the poet draw between two human beings?
Ans. The poet draws physical and mental
identity between two persons. He asserts that each human being is made up of
the same atoms of earth and air as he himself, or as any other human being.
4.
Why
does poet the poet not want to bother himself with ‘Creeds and schools’?
Ans. The poet does not want to bother himself
with creeds and schools because he does not want them to come between him and
nature. He wants to concentrate on nature.
5.
What
does he want to speak about?
Ans. He wants to speak about himself. But
‘himself’ means all kind, the supreme being himself.
6.
What
does he (Walt Whitman) hope to do in the poem ‘song of myself’?
Ans. He hopes to concentrate on nature for
inspiration of his songs.
7.
How
does the speaker establish relation between ‘me’ and ‘you’?
Ans. The speaker establishes a complete
identity between himself and others by saying ‘every atom belonging to me as
good belongs to you’. me and you are the two sides of the same coin.
8.
What
has formed the speaker’s blood?
Ans. The blood of the speaker has been formed
by the same soil and the same air that everyone breathes. There is no
difference between his blood and the blood of others.
Explanation
1.
‘Hoping the cease
not till death’
Ans. The given stanza has been taken from the poem ‘Song of Myself’ which is
written by Walt Whitman. He was born in 1819 and died in 1892. He is known as
people’s poet.
The poet is thirty-seven years old. He is in perfect health. He hopes he will
stay healthy till the last day of his life.
जिसpoem केline मेंmyself, age, hazard, loafe,
creeds, atom, thirty seven, etc रहेतोवह line song of myself का होगा|
Summary in Hindi
कवि का कथन है कि वह अपने बारे में गाएगा| उसका विश्वास है
कि मानव जाति से वह पूर्णत: एक हैं| इसलिए अपने बारे में गाकर वह सबके के बारे में
गाएगा| उसे पूर्ण विश्वास है कि उसके विचार और आदर्श अन्य सबके मत व आदर्श भी हैं,
और जो कुछ उसका है, वह सब का है| उसका कहना है कि जिन अणुओ से वह बना है उन्हीं से
सब बने हैं| वह अपनी आत्मा को ग्रीष्म में घास के एक तिनके को देखने के लिए आमंत्रित करता है| वह
अपना गूढ़ अनुभव सीधा प्राकृतिक से प्राप्त करना चाहता है| वह सब मत-मतांतरों को एक ओर हटाकर सीधे प्राकृतिक से संपर्क
स्थापित करना चाहता है| उसके शरीर का हर परमाणु उसके देश की मिट्टी से बना है जहां
वह बैठा वायु में सांस ले रहा है| उसके सभी पूर्वज उन्हीं तत्वों से बने थे| इसलिए
वह प्राकृतिक का है| वह 37
वर्ष का हो गया
है और पूर्णत: स्वस्थ है| उसे आशा है कि मृत्यु आने तक वह स्वस्थ ही रहेगा|
यह कविता स्पष्ट रूप से कवि के प्रजातंत्र, समानता और विश्वव्यापक मानव भाईचारे
में पूर्ण विश्वास को प्रकट करती है| समस्त सृष्टि में मूल एकता है|
