journal - 30

http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/341

So far, out of all the poems I have read by Walt Whitman, "Life" is my favorite one so far. Life is a poem that pertains to all human beings.

Ever the undiscouraged, resolute, struggling soul of man;

(Have former armies fail'd? then we send fresh armies—and fresh again;)

Ever the grappled mystery of all earth's ages old or new;

Ever the eager eyes, hurrahs, the welcome-clapping hands, the loud applause;

Ever the soul dissatisfied, curious, unconvinced at last;

Struggling to-day the same—battling the same.

In the first stanza, Whitman brings up the souls of everyone and identifies that all of us struggle inwardly and become discouraged at times. Whitman is suggesting that it is a part of our human nature for us to become discouraged. He also asks if former armies have failed. Which, they obviously have. And he says that we continue to send in fresh troops when armies fail. I think this implies that everyone fails, but we have to pick up again and keep moving forward and not get down about ourselves that things aren't working the way we wanted them to.

Then Whitman talks about a mystery of the earth. Some mystery that we all grapple with deep down inside. It is a mystery that society has forever struggled with and continues to. We all have eager eyes searching to see what the truth is and we watch others to see how they react to this topic, to see if they welcome it or not. I think that the mystery Whitman refers to is if God is for real or not.

In the third and final stanza, Whitman again brings up the dissatisfied soul. He remarks that it can be unconvinced, which I believe means unconvinced of God, and it be left unsatisfied. He also says that we all struggle over and over again with this topic.

This is my favorite poem by Walt Whitman so far because it deals with an issue that lies within us all. We all do grapple with the belief in God and how much we value that belief and what we think the consequences will be. That is human nature to struggle with that and to remain dissatisfied if we do not find belief and trust in God. I think this poem is very true of us all, and it is personal to every single person, which is why it is my favorite.

Chanting the Square Deific

In the poem "Chanting the Square Deific", Whitman's self spirituality is portrayed (Whitman). This is done through him telling of his spiritual beliefs. He describes at length his spiritual hierarchy, so to speak (Whitman). Deity can be described as "divine character or nature, especially that of the Supreme Being; divinity" (Deity). Therefore, Whitman's poem is referring to what he believes to be the character and nature of the Supreme Being, or God, and is described in four sects, not three like the Christian Church (Oliver). The four Deifics that Whitman believes in are God, Christ, Satan, and the soul.

In the first stanza, Whitman describes in short what he believes is the nature of God (Whitman). He firstly describes God as Jehovah, which in the Bible is the Old Testament name for God (Whitman) (Jehovah). Whitman says that God also describes himself as Old Braham, Kronos and Saturnius (Whitman). Braham, Kronos and Saturnius are what people believe are a Hindu god, Titan god, and Roman god (Oliver). Whitman also describes God in a harsh way (Whitman). He says that god kills whoever sins (Whitman).

The second stanza tells of Whitman's belief in the second deific, which is the Christ. Whitman says that Christ is the consolator most mild, which would be like a tender comforter (Whitman). Whitman describes Christ as a mightier god than God. Whitman says that Christ takes away all of our sorrow, labor, and suffering. He also says that Christ 's sweet love never dies. Whitman also says that Christ is the promised one advancing (Whitman). This most likely means that Whitman believes Jesus Christ is coming back, as is the Christian belief. It is ironic that Whitman holds Christian beliefs, yet believes in a "quaternity" not a trinity, as Christians do (Oliver).

In the third stanza, Whitman describes his beliefs of Satan (Whitman). In comparison to Jesus, Whitman says that Satan is "aloof, dissatisfying, plotting revolt". Whitman says that Satan is the comrade of criminals and the brother to slaves (Whitman). These things seem to be opposites. It is understandable to call Satan a friend of criminals, that makes sense. But calling him a brother to slaves is indicating that he has a soft heart for the downtrodden (Oliver). Satan is the opposite of everything that God is. So for Whitman to include Satan in his square deific is like neutralizing the deific and balancing it between good and evil (Oliver).

Lastly, Whitman describes the soul, which he describes him as he would describe the holy Holy Spirit (Whitman). Except, the soul that Whitman describes is more broad than the Holy Spirit. He describes it as a general soul (Whitman). The soul is opposite Jesus in the square deific. But, it is also including God, Jesus, and Satan. The soul as Whitman describes it is an all inclusive thing, which includes all spiritual things in all realms (Whitman).

In describing his beliefs in the Father, Son, Satan and the Holy Spirit, Whitman was defining himself. Self is a culmination of who you think you are, how others see you, and your spiritual being within you. Therefore, by defining his beliefs, Whitman was in turn defining himself.

"The Walt Whitman Archive." CHANTING THE SQUARE DEIFIC. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892]) -. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. .

Oliver, Charles M. "'Chanting the Square Deific'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW082&SingleRecord=True (accessed

April 4, 2012).

"Deity." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. .

"Jehovah." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. .

journal - 29

Self can be defined as your soul, your self, and the real you. Soul is your spiritual self. The self is like your personality and self-perception. How you view yourself can sometimes be very different than how others view you, which is what I referred to as the real you. Which is other's perceptions of you and what the reality is of who you are. First and foremost who I am is a Christian. It sounds like an escape route from thinking deeply, but in fact my faith is the biggest factor in defining who I am. Down to my innermost being I am a Christian, and that is something that nobody can take away from me. Because I am a Christian I am able to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and have self control. Without being a Christian, I would not be able to be all of those things. Although I do not always do a great job at being all of those things, I have the capability and strive to be those things. Secondly, I am a Demczak. To me, this is big. This means many things. It means that I need to continue the family name of a good work ethic, strong character, and servant of God. Also, with being a Demczak, I am Alex's little sister. That has defined me and helped make me who I am today. If it weren't for the good example my brother had set and him pressing me to follow in his good example, I would not have as high of character that I do today. Thirdly, I am an athlete. To me, this means that I work hard. I try to let nothing go into my body that is not honoring to God, and therefore what comes out of me is hopefully honoring to God. I compete for the Glory of God. God created me to be able to run, so I run my best. Because I can. Another thing that defines me, is that I am a servant. I serve the Lord first and foremost. But I also am here to serve others. This has been one of my roles growing up, and it brings fulfillment to my heart to serve others. I am a person who requires much self reflection to keep my emotional self at its equilibrium. I am not quiet in my nature, but need quiet time with just me and my God every day to function. This is who I am.