Analysis
of Oh Me! Oh Life! By Walt Whitman
Oh
Me! Oh Life! is a lyrical poem by Walter Whitman, expressing the
ever-struggling, ever-criticizing and ever-faithless nature of humanity. The
poem divides itself in two sections: a section with questions about the nature
of life, and a section with the answer for these questions. Despite having
numerous subsections to his question, the basic intention of the poem is to
answer the one that presses the speaker the most: “What good amid these, oh me
oh life?”. The speaker uses a variety of devices to communicate his questions.
The use of repeated words such as “oh” and “of” gives a dramatic mood, whereby
the speaker poses questions and answers them in an ever-lyrical, ever-emotional
manner. Furthermore, the caesurae add to this dramatic effect, through speeding
the poem, as it progresses.
The single word line ‘Answer’ with a colon
cuts this mood short and prepares the reader to the speaker’s answer. The
answer for the point of life is then expressed in direct, yet metaphorical
terms, giving an insight into the ultimate question in life: its purpose.
The title of the poem has much
significance, since it uses the word “oh”, as it is repeated throughout the
poem. Its use gives a dramatic and lyrical effect on the poem from the
beginning. The use of the direct object personal first-person pronoun shows
that something effects the speaker, as oppose to the speaker effecting it. The
title is effective in giving an insight to the speaker’s view of life:
something that directly affects him, but cannot directly be impacted by his will
or conscience. These two remarks both commence the poem and end the question,
hence exemplifying the important nature of the remarks in the poem.
A series of hyperboles and metaphors convey
the speaker’s perception of his surroundings. Every day, he encounters the
“sordid crowds” who come in “endless trains”. The “faithless”, who “vainly
crave the light” to the speaker are nothing but “empty”. Thus, the speaker
wishes to state that where the majority head to on these faithless trains is
“empty”. The “light” that all “vainly crave” exists elsewhere than where
everyone seems to be heading. This reality of humanity, only seeking
self-interests, tending towards a sort of faithlessness was precisely the
criticism of the speaker.
However, the question seems to suggest
that the speaker not only criticizes this type of society, but also wishes to
be excluded from such a society. “What good amid these…?” he asks himself. The
tragic reality of his life, that he is caught in such a “faithless” society
heading in one direction of the “train” is what seems to truly bother him.
However, the speaker, in the next stanza answers
himself clearly. The word “answer” is succeeded directly by a full stop. After
all the figurative language in the question, the speaker wishes to express that
there is a true answer to this complex and overwhelming question of life. The
answer is given clearly: that he may contribute a verse to his powerful play,
known as life.
Yet, arguably more substantially than
this, the speaker is inclined to say that the reason one must live on is
because “life exists…”. His “identity” is already defined by the fact that he
is alive. He wishes, therefore, to suggest that every single life should be
valued, as it can play a part in “the powerful play”.
Hence, the conveyance of this lyrical poem
is a positive one, despite its initial negative attributes it places on life
itself. Despite the difficulties of life, with ‘faithless men’ on ‘trains’
going in one and faithless direction, causing much confusion, the answer to the
speaker is very clear. “Answer.” He wishes to say that if life itself were “the
powerful play”, it is our obligation as those who partake in life to
“contribute a verse”. The speaker seems to thus ask the reader, ‘what will your
verse be?[1]’
thus keeping the poem open to the reader’s own interpretations and potentials.
Oh Me! Oh Life!
Walt Whitman (1892)
Oh
me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of
the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of
myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more
faithless?)
Of
eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever
renew’d,
Of
the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of
the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The
question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That
you are here—that life exists and identity,
That
the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
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