ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION OR INVESTIGATION

• Using one of the sections of "Song of Myself" given (or another that you find on your own), describe the "eagle eye" that is narrating the poem. What does this eye notice, or neglect, in the landscape?
• Research Whitman's connection to a particular region described in the poem-- perhaps greater New York, or the Far West. If you can, find a period map. What are the important geographical and botanical features of the place? What, do you think, was particularly atrractive to Whitman about it?
• Look at the photos on the Whitman in the City page to see another dimension of Whitman's visual sensibilities. How does he 'translate' into words the feeling of a photograph, or a map? How are the two media different?
• Read one of Whitman's other famous poems about his Long Island/Brooklyn youth-- either "Starting from Paumanok" or "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." How is his use of spatial metaphors different here than in "Song of Myself"? OR read the prose passages in "Specimen Days" in which Whitman describes his trip West, and compare to other poems you've read.