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.