"I Sing the Body Electric"

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the poem "I Sing the Body Electric" by Walt Whitman, the American poet who revolutionized English language poetry. The poem was one of twelve in the first edition of "Leaves of Grass", published in 1855. In the poem, Whitman asserts that the body and the soul are one in the same. This paper analyzes Whitman's themes of sexuality, love, spirituality and democracy, which he uses to support his argument. The paper quotes liberally from the poem. The paper concludes with the author lauding Whitman for his refusal to compartmentalize his ideas.

From the Paper:

"Whitman's love for the wondrous qualities of the human body is obvious with the very first line: "I SING the Body electric" (Whitman, 1). It praises the body by singing of its vibrancy. The body is exciting, thrilling and through it, one has a quintessential life experience. It is in the first stanza that Whitman presents his argument. He writes, "And if the body does not do as much as the Soul? /And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?" (Whitman, 1). American Christian churches taught and do still teach the idea that the human body is separate from the human soul. In essence, they are two different entities."

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