"Song of Myself," by Walt Whitman, Whitman uses figurative language to express that he has a deep connection with nature because he was grown "from" it and grew up in the very place where he is sitting. The phrase "every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air" can be connected to the scene in the Bible when God creates Adam and Eve, which says, "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." This connection that can be established between the two phrases can reveal Whitman's belief that all men, including "parents born here from parents the same", have their roots in nature and were conceived from it. This excerpt from Stanza I can connect to an excerpt in Stanza LII, which says "I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,/ If you want me again look for me under your boot soles." This quote connects back to Stanza I because they both emphasize the original state of man that has a deep root in nature, and he uses the imagery of growing grass in this excerpt from Stanza LII to connect to the idea in Stanza I that he grew from the soil as well. .
"Houses and rooms are full of perfumes the shelves.
are crowded with perfumes, .
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it, .
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it. .
The atmosphere is not a perfume it has no taste.
of the distillation. it is odorless,.
It is for my mouth forever I am in love with it,.".
In this excerpt, Whitman uses symbols and sensory imagery in order to express his desire to gain all of his knowledge through his own experiences and his experiences with nature. Throughout the excerpt, the word "perfume" is used as a symbol for literature that filled the shelves of his home and others homes.
