LBUS, Faculty of Letters and Arts

Department of Anglo-American and German Studies

MA in English Language and Literature, 2nd year students
Literature in the Teaching of the English Language
Course convenor: Dr Ana-Karina Schneider
2019-2020
Seminar 5

One’s-Self I Sing

By Walt Whitman

One’s-Self I sing, a simple separate person,

Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse.

Of physiology from top to toe I sing,

Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I say the Form complete is
worthier far,
The Female equally with the Male I sing.

Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,

Cheerful, for freest action form’d under the laws divine,
The Modern Man I sing.

Class Activity:

I. Questions

1. Describe the language and form of this poem.

2. Is the capitalisation of certain words significant?
3. Single out two oppositions and explain what they contribute to the overall idea of the
poem.
4. What does Whitman mean by “Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the
Muse”?
5. How does Whitman envision “Modern Man”?
6. Is it significant that this poem first appeared as an "Inscription," heading the 1867 edition
of Leaves of Grass?
 7. Contextualise the text – for instance, who was Walt Whitman? What else did he write?
How does this poem echo key ideas of Leaves of Grass?
8. What is Whitman’s place in American literature?

II. Write a Lesson Plan in which you use Walt Whitman’s poem as a means of teaching
the English language.

The skill you should focus on is Writing.

Include a discussion of prosody and stylistic devices as illustrated by Whitman’s poem – e.g.
alliteration. (Include definitions of terms in your Lesson Plan.)

Include a creative writing project for your pupils. For instance, each pupil chooses a phrase from
Whitman’s poem (e.g. “A Simple, Separate Person” or “The Form Complete” etc.) and uses it as
the title of his/her own poem. You may set a word limit.

Write such a poem yourself.

Here are a few other ideas for creative writing activities: https://thinkwritten.com/poetry-
prompts/

What aspect of language can be learned by using this poem? (e.g., spelling? Punctuation?) Be
specific!