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Walt Whitman, “I Hear America Singing”

This poem reflects, in miniature, the type of list-making that defines much of “Song of Myself.” In particular, both poems share an interest in cataloging the sheer variety of folks—of all ages and from all backgrounds—who make up the United States of America.

Langston Hughes, “I, Too”

In this poem, Hughes echoes and rebuts the vision of America that Whitman offers in “I Hear America Singing.” Specifically, Hughes offers an important riposte to Whitman’s apparently totalizing vision of America, which neglects to mention the extraordinary “contribution” enslaved men and women of African descent have made to the nation. Readers of “Song of Myself” might well ask themselves if Whitman’s longer poem does a better and more inclusive job of representing the United States than his shorter one.

Emily Dickinson, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”

Though Dickinson and Whitman were contemporaries, their poems are typically quite distinct in both style and substance. In this case, however, both poets significantly feature images of outer space. More specifically, “Song of Myself” and “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” both include images that relate the vastness of the cosmos to the human mind or imagination.

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