Type out the line or passage. Explain why this is your favorite and how it can speak to us in 2009.

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"I am the poet of the Body, and I am the Poet of the Soul."

I chose this quote because it shows how Walt Whitman is somehow the corporeal and incorporeal in the sense of his poetry. I like how, in the first part, he uses antithesis to show he is not so easily definable. I believe this quote truly explains the essence of Whitman’s poetry. He is certainly a poet of the body, which is indicated earlier when he says, "urge, urge, and urge, always the procreant urge of the world." He talks of his “love root” with quite a cavalier attitude, which indicates that he does not believe in the sheltering of people from parts of the body that society has deemed “unclean.” He also talks about having sex with the air, which seems odd at first glance. However, if you think about it, you can view it as an expression of love, which is not only of nature, but also of the body, which is why he is the poet of the body. This is well complemented by the part about the soul. A lot of Whitman’s poetry prompts the reader to take a look at themselves, and focus on pleasing the self instead of pleasing other people. The soul is the essential being of a person, which is independent of society’s views, for the soul is invisible, and can not be seen as to be judged. He often projects himself into other scenes, which can not be done just with the body. This requires some imagination which, artistically speaking, comes from the soul. This is why this quote is the essence of Whitman.

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