Journal #30: Favorite Whitman Poem

My favorite poem out of the ones that I read from Leaves of Grass was I Dream'd in a Dream. I think that this poem is my favorite because it talks about a perfect life. I think that it would be great to have a Utopian city like the one mentioned in this poem. Whitman says in the poem that the city he dreamed of was the city of friends. This leads me to believe that Walt Whitman truly valued the friendships he had because friendships appeared in his dreams. I agree with Walt Whitman in this case because it would be really nice to have a city in which everyone loved one another. This would mean that everyone in the society would get along. This poem is inspiring. It makes me wonder what it would truly be like if there was such a city. Walt Whitman also says that there is nothing greater than the power of love in the city of his dreams. Whitman must have also valued love because he included that in the description of the city of his dreams. I think that the city of my dreams would be somewhat similar to the city of Walt Whitman’s dreams. In my city of dreams I would also include the importance of friendships and family bonding time. I think that a person is only successful in life if they live a happy life. This poem reminds me of that story about the little boy in school. The teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up, and the little boy responded by saying he wants to be happy. That makes my heart melt a little inside. The little boy is thinking of the future of his dreams and all he wants is to be happy. I wish that everyone could live the lives of their dreams and be happy. There has to be an ideal city or town for everyone in the world, but unfortunately not everyone will ever find the city of their dreams. 

Reflection: Chanting The Square Deific

In this poem, God is seen as a quaternity (Oliver). This means that God is seen as having four parts. Instead of the traditional belief of God being a trinity, having the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Whitman's view of this poem show God as having four parts. The four parts that Whitman talks about in this poem are: God, Christ, Satan, and the soul or "Santa Spirita" (Oliver). These four parts are each described in their own stanza in the poem.

The first stanza describes the side of the square of God. He is not just talking about the Christian God, but Brahm, Jehova, Saturnius, and also Father Time. These five Gods are the top of the tree in their certain religion. Just like in the Christian religion, God is at the top of the holy trinity. Brahm, Jehova, and Saturnius seem to also be the top dog from their religion. These Gods come from the religions of Buddhists, Hebrew, and Mythology respectively. This first side of the square is talking about giving no mercy and accepting no remorse(Whitman). The power of this deity is compared to the strength of the Earth's gravitational pull and the changing of the seasons (Whitman).

The second side of the square is describing the son of God, or the figure of Christ. This side of the square is described as being as strong as Hercules. With this simile, Whitman was illustrating that this deity is also very powerful. Comparing the square from this poem and the Trinity of the Christian faith, this side of the square is comparable to Christ in the Trinity and the top being God. This is very similar to the simile referring to Hermes and Zeus. The equivalent to Zeus would be God; the equivalent of Hermes would be Christ, the son of God. This side of the square is younger and more enthusiastic. This side is described as being more influential and exuberant. This side is know as the "cheer bringing God" (Whitman). This is known as the "Consolator" and the comforter (Oliver).

Satan is the third side of the Square Deific.  He is the opposite of the two sides that have been mentioned so far. The side of Satan is described as being "dissatisfied ans plotting revolt" (Oliver). He is not there to help others, he is there to simply torment and persuade people into doing things that should not ever be done. Unfortunately, Satan is like God and Christ in the fact that he is also strong. His strength is not used for the better, in fact, Satan uses his strengths to do people harm. He is the "comrade of criminals," (Whitman) meaning that he is the striving force and the organizer of the wrong doings. This side would be the opposite of the force of God because Satan is the opposing force of God. While God id trying to lead people to do the right things, Satan is luring people into doing the wrong things.

The fourth side of the square is "Santa Spirita," or self. This side joins the other three sides together to make a completed shape. The "self" side is opposite the side of Christ is the most "solid" (Whitman). The side of the soul or self is the most solid because it includes parts of the other three sides. This makes it the "strongest" because it has the best resources and help on it's side. The word choice in the last stanza suggests that the speaker is believing that he makes up the side of "Santa Spirita" (Oliver). He is the most materialized and mortal.

"Chanting the Square Deific" is illustrating the idea of the certain square deity of the speaker. This deity includes four main components: God, Christ, Satan, and Self. The speaker believes that all four of these make up a powerful deity. Whitman's poetry is centered around self, and in this particular poem, it is really easy to see. Whitman related the speaker with the side of self because Whitman really valued the ideals of being individual and developing inside of yourself.


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).

Whitman, Walt. "The Walt Whitman Archive." Chanting the Square Deific. Web. 03 Apr. 2012.

Journal #29: SELF

Self. There are three main components of my transcendental self. Part number one includes the spiritual self. My spiritual self involves the Christian faith. Because I attend a Christian Church with my family, I have grown up going to church and learning about the Christian religion. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and he is my Lord and Savior. I think that this is a really big part of myself because I try to do everything that God would want me to do. The second part of self is my personality. My personality is rather outgoing and cheerful. I try to make the best out of ever situation despite the sadness it might bring along. I perceive myself as being a very nice individual and helping others as much as possible. I try to always be positive in all situations and I think that allows me to be good at my job. I work at PASSAGE, the after school daycare program at elementary  school. I think that I am good at this job because there is a certain quality you need. I love children and I am really good at dealing with all of the crap they come up with. The real me is just what you see when you talk to me. I have not completely figured out why I am here or who I really am. I think that as of right now I am here on the Earth to be a good person, a follower of God, and eventually go into medicine so I can help others. I feel like my "real self" includes just the qualities that make me up. With me, what you see is what you get. I think that some people try to hied their real self and be somebody they really are not. This is a very common thing in High School I think because they want to be popular and fit in. Even if I do not fit it as well as I would like, I really try to be myself in everything I do.