Name: Date:
Study Questions for “Song of Myself” (I)
1
What’s wrong with “loafers”?
2
What’s your favorite smell?
The last stanza of this section argues for the primacy of ______.
6
You’re traveling by yourself. Somebody sits down in the seat next to yours. Do you strike up a conversation? Why or why not? What would Whitman do?
8
What is that girl so red-faced about?
Why is the next stanza about a suicide?
How does WW respond to both incidents?
Where does the bulk of this section take place?
10
Will this marriage work out? Why or why not?
After visiting many people, WW is paid a visit. By whom?
Name: Date:
Study Questions for “Song of Myself” (II)
11
Why can’t the twenty-eight bathers see the twenty-ninth?
Are you shocked by this scene, or merely repulsed?
17
Do these poems amount to anything?
18
Who is celebrated in this section?
Do we care about this group of people?
19
What is a “kept-woman”? A “venerealee”?
21
Body :
: hell
: woman
This section is a love song to .
24
What’s WW got against doors?
For whom does WW purport to be speaking?
What does WW particularly worship?
Name: Date:
Study Questions for “Song of Myself” (III)
32
If you could be an animal, what animal would you be? (Why?)
What are three things that animals don’t do?
1)
2)
3)
Who does do those kinds of things?
What animal is featured in this section?
37
“Through me many long dumb voices” says Whitman in section 24. What three different unheard voices does he empathize with here?
1)
2)
3)
Do these people deserve our sympathy?
46
This is how I like to imagine I would be as a teacher. What kind of teacher would I be? (25 words minimum).
Name: Date:
Study Questions for “Song of Myself” (IV)
48
What kind of job do you hope to do someday?
How could you be a hero in it?
Fill-in-the-Blanks: “Whoever walks a ______without ______walks to his own ______dressed in a ______.”
Does Whitman understand God? Y / N
Does Whitman see any evidence for the existence of God? If so, where?
49
What do you need to grow beautiful roses or melons?
52
What does Whitman have in common with the hawk?
If you wanted to find Whitman now, where would be a good place to look?