Walt Whitman was undoubtedly one of the most influential poets during the Civil War era. Although he was never directly involved in the war, Whitman was able to speak about the war in a more insightful way than many poets of the time could. Whitman was very active in writing before and after the war, choosing instead to devote himself to helping wounded soldiers during the war. Walt Whitman's poetry reflects the progression of his philosophy of America: his initial vision of America was uplifting, depicted in his pre-Civil War poems and while the Civil War poetry presents the degradation of American society, the final poem Whitman returns to a realist, optimistic vision of America. While Whitman, the specific individual, dissolves into the abstract, "Song of Myself" explores the possibilities of communion between individuals. Whitman addresses the reader in a particularly direct manner. He integrates his reader into the poem and frees himself from the constraints of poetic principles and social etiquette. The poem presents the entire body lying on the ground, propped up and inactive. Whitman deliberately blends the natural world and the poetic world. “Song of Myself” goes beyond the boundaries of Transcendentalism in the relationship between physical and spiritual, individual and universal. The self that Whitman gleefully sings and celebrates substantiates a "uniform hieroglyph": suggestive, multifaceted, and awash in incoherence. “It is as much a physical presence as a projected spiritual possibility” (Jason 2). Although it overtly and fervently expresses Whitman's belief in evolution (and thus in the necessary indivisibility of self-sufficiency), "Song of Myself" also conveys a separation with the "self," the poet himself, and the co... .. middle of paper ...... Macy and public response are at odds here. The poem in fact ends with a note of sad and silent desperation, a true confession of love: "But I with a lugubrious step, / I walk on the bridge lies my Captain, / Fallen cold and dead" (Terrinoni). Works Cited Davis, Robert L. "Whitman's Kettledrum: A Reading of the Drum Hits." American Transcendental Quarterly 6.3 (1992): 163-75. University of Rhode Island, March 1, 1990. Web.Jason, Philip K., Tracy Irons-Georges, and Donald D. Cummings. Masterplots II: Poetry Series - Rev. Ed. Pasadena CA: Salem, 2002. Print.Jason, Philip K., Tracy Irons-Georges, and Robert A. Morace. Masterplots II: Poetry Series - Rev. Ed. Pasadena CA: Salem, 2002. Print.Terrinoni, Enrico. "Literary Contexts in Poetry: 'Oh Captain! My Captain!' by Walt Whitman" Understanding Literature - Literary Contexts in Poetry and Short Stories. Great Neck, 2007. Print.