The significance of Grass

The significance of Grass, in American poet Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, as part of his epic work “Leaves of Grass” is that a single blade of grass represents an individual in society. The man in the poem is “…observing a blade of summer grass.” This causes him to ponder the human condition and the thoughts and actions of human beings. This blade of grass is amongst an innumerable host of leaves of grass. It is a representation of this grass, as well as distinct and separate (as an individual blade) from this multitude.

This is the same with people. We are all part of the human family. We are also distinct, unique individuals of this group. When the man ponders the blade of grass he is thinking about man (exemplified by the blade) and his purpose on the earth.

Right off the bat, in this section of “Leaves of Grass”, Whitman alludes to the fact that we come from the dust of the earth. Spears of grass arise from the dirt. Man is created of the dust of the earth and Whitman states in this poem that, “My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air, He sees some similarities here between flora and human beings. The soil begets a multitude of grass; the soil begot human beings through a creative act. This is definitely alluded to here, regardless of one’s belief system. It seems that Whitman is relating the life of a blade of grass to a human life. Grass strives to survive daily and eventually meets its end. So does man. Grass, so-to-speak, greets each day and exists and functions. So do we, as living beings. Whitman notes “… the song of me rising from bed and meeting the sun.” This is what spears of grass do each morning – awake and meet the sun.