Section+6

The sixth section of Walt Whitman’s //Song of Myself// demonstrates that life and death are part of a natural cycle of eternity, which carries on throughout all living beings alike. The speaker is able to understand this concept once he realizes the equal contribution of every individual to the cycle of life. His use of questions to begin the section shows his initial lack of understanding of the life cycle. After being asked “//What is the grass?//” (99), he realizes that he does not know and begins to question its meaning as well. He begins several lines with the words, “I guess…” (101) and “It may be…” (112) followed by his predictions, signifying that he is yet to be enlightened about the grass’ inclusion of both life and death as part of the cycle of nature.

In verses four through seven, the speaker’s use of metaphor illuminates the idea that the grass, representing nature as a whole, is part of the circle of life, which includes all living beings, black and white, young and old. The speaker compares the grass to a “child, the produced babe of the vegetation” (105). His use of the word “babe” shows nature to be comprised of new life, as living beings are constantly being born into the cycle of nature. In the fifth verse, the speaker compares the grass to a “uniform hieroglyphic” (106). The word “uniform” suggests that nature is universal, “growing among black folks as among white” (108). It does not distinguish between living beings, but includes them all the same. In the sixth verse, the speaker compares the grass to “the beautiful uncut hair of graves” (110), associating it with death. In contrast to his comparison of the grass to a “babe of the vegetation”, which showed nature to sponsor new life, the speaker is now illustrating that death is also a vital step in the cycle of nature. The final metaphor in this section compares the grass to “mothers’ laps”. The value of a “mother” lies in her ability to produce and nurture children. Likewise, nature is the giver of life and mankind. It is also comprised of death, however, as men go back to nature after they die, illustrating nature as the foundation of life and also the end of it; it is the receiver of men in both life and death. After death all beings will return to nature through the grass and take their turn again on the cycle of life.

The climactic shift towards the end of the section illustrates the speaker’s final understanding of the value of the individual in constituting nature. Towards the end of the section, the speaker is able to “perceive after all so many uttering tongues” (119), recognizing that the ideas spoken through different individual’s “tongues” throughout the history of mankind have all played a part in the cycle of nature. Each man represents a leaf of grass, in uniting to form something much larger, nature. Also, each individual has his own ideas to add to the growing plethora of knowledge for future generations, as the cycle continues.

To further implement this idea of equal contribution, the speaker’s voice transitions from “I” (100) to “you” (123) as he begins to address the audience, demonstrating the value he holds of others’ thoughts and opinions. He asks the audience, “What do you think…?” (123) in order to stress that other individuals' insights have as much value as his own and play an equal role in the constitution of nature.

In verses eleven and twelve, the speaker uses the poem’s structure to reveal his acceptance of death as part of the natural cycle of life, as all beings' souls live on for eternity. The speaker believes that “to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier” (130), and communicates this through his use of repetition. In the two verses, he begins most of the lines with the word, “and” (127), while proclaiming his new-found insights about the cycle of life. His repetition of “and” shows his excitement at expressing his happiness at discovering the ongoing cycle of life, and that there will always be life after death. It also suggests the everlasting life cycle, which constantly repeats its course, transitioning from life to death, and back again. As the speaker believes, “all goes onward and outward, nothing collapses” (129) because new generations build on old ones, and the cycle of life is repeated forever, which makes death "different from what any one supposed, and luckier” (129-30). The speaker's final use of the word "and" suggests that death will only continue to connect him to new experiences. Death provides a knowledge of all men who ever lived that life cannot offer, allowing the speaker to join the fabric of life displayed in the grass with confidence that his soul will live on for eternity.