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The Full Text of “One's-Self I Sing”
1One’s-Self I sing, a simple separate person,
2Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse.
3Of physiology from top to toe I sing,
4Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I say the Form complete is worthier far,
5The Female equally with the Male I sing.
6Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,
7Cheerful, for freest action form’d under the laws divine,
8The Modern Man I sing.
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“One's-Self I Sing” Introduction
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"One's-Self I Sing" is a tribute both to the individual self and to humanity as a collective whole. Its speaker affirms the "worth[iness]" of the human body, the equal dignity of men and women, and the "passion" and "power" of life in a democratic society. In the process, the speaker suggests that the recognition of individual worth is fundamental to democracy itself. The poem was collected in the fifth (1871) edition of Whitman's masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, as a revised version of an "Inscription" in the fourth (1867) edition.
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“One's-Self I Sing” Summary
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I sing in praise of the individual self: the ordinary, particular person. But I also speak of democracy and the collective whole.
I sing in praise of the body from head to toe. I don't say that the face or mind alone deserves to be celebrated in poetry; I say the whole body is much more deserving. I sing in praise of women and men alike.
I sing of the tremendous, surging passion of life itself; I sing of modern humanity, happy and born to live as freely as possible under the sacred laws of the universe.
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“One's-Self I Sing” Themes
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Individuality, Democracy, and Equality
"One's-Self I Sing" celebrates the individual as part of a larger tribute to democracy and equality. In fact, the poem suggests that a truly democratic attitude (that is, an equal respect for everyone) begins with recognition and celebration of the full, independent self. What’s more, this recognition extends to every kind of self (including both "Male" and "Female"). The poem ultimately suggests that to honor a single person, whoever they may be, is to honor all of humanity—and affirm "Life" itself in the process.
The speaker frames their celebration of the individual as simultaneously—and paradoxically—a celebration of all humankind. They declare that "I sing" (i.e., celebrate) "One's-Self [...] a simple separate person." In other words, this is a poem of praise for any individual, or even for individuality itself, rather than for a specific person. "Yet," the speaker adds, the poem is also about humanity as a whole. The speaker "utter[s] the word Democratic, the word En-Masse" in connection with the "Self," suggesting that to dignify the individual is also to dignify the masses. In other words, honoring the value of the "separate person" translates to honoring the rights and liberties of all people.
Building on these ideas, the speaker celebrates all of the human "Form" rather than parts of it—and all kinds of people rather than certain privileged groups. For example, they honor the full body rather than just the face or mind ("physiognomy" or "brain"). They also honor all types of bodies and individuals: "The Female equally with the Male." That is, they don't consider one kind of person better than another; they value each person individually and equally.
Finally, the speaker casts these various kinds of praise as a more general praise of "Life" and the vast possibilities it holds for free people in modern democracies. The speaker includes "Life"—with a capital L!—in their song of celebration, exalting it as "immense in passion, pulse, and power." They also praise "The Modern Man" (i.e., modern people as a whole, not just men), describing this creature as naturally happy ("Cheerful") and born to be free ("for freest action form'd"). By implication, what makes people free, happy, and "Modern" is life under democracy—that is, life in a society that shares the speaker's ideals of equality and individual worth.
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “One's-Self I Sing”
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Lines 1-2
One’s-Self I sing, a simple separate person,
Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse.Lines 1-2 reflect a major theme of Walt Whitman's poetry: the relationship between the individual and the collective. (e.g., between a single human being and humanity in general). Whitman placed this poem first in the later editions of his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, so in some ways, it's meant to encapsulate the themes of the whole book. (For more, see the Context section of this guide.)
The speaker (who can be read as representing the poet himself) begins by declaring that they're "sing[ing]" a poetic song of praise for "One's-Self":
- Notice that "One's-Self" is different from "Myself"—something Whitman had already written about in one of his most famous poems, "Song of Myself"!
- The phrase "One's-Self I sing" is meant to allude back to that earlier poem, while also making clear that the poet's true subject isn't Walt Whitman, specifically, but anyone's self. In other words, the poem celebrates the individual spirit: the "simple separate person."
Yet even as the speaker "sing[s]" about, or praises, individuality, they also "utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse." In other words, the speaker also praises people in general:
- The verb "utter" may sound a little less joyful than "sing," but it, too, can be associated with poetry (as in the phrase poetic utterance).
- "The word Democratic," meanwhile, held a deep significance for Whitman, who considered himself an almost prophet-like advocate of democracy. Here, the speaker places the word in parallel with "the word En-Masse"; en masse is French for "collectively" or "in great numbers," so it refers here to the collective mass of people who make up a democracy.
The speaker, then, is linking two seemingly antithetical concepts—the individual and the collective—and declaring that both are central to their (the speaker's) song. The speaker implies that celebrating the individual is foundational to democracy: that democracy begins with equal and respectful treatment of each "simple separate person" within the collective grouping that is humanity.
Notice how the /s/ alliteration (or sibilance) in "Self," "sing," "simple," and "separate" emphasizes each individual word while also linking them all together through sound. Perhaps this effect, in itself, reflects the theme of individuality within a collective. This first stanza, like the two that follow, is also firmly end-stopped with a period, making it an individual, self-contained unit within the poem's greater whole.
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Lines 3-5
Of physiology from top to toe I sing,
Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I say the Form complete is worthier far,
The Female equally with the Male I sing.
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Lines 6-8
Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,
Cheerful, for freest action form’d under the laws divine,
The Modern Man I sing.
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“One's-Self I Sing” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Antithesis
The poem sets up an antithesis between the "simple separate person" and humanity "En-Masse," as well as between one part of the body (e.g., the "physiognomy" or "brain," that is, face or mind) and the whole body ("the Form complete"). However, the speaker resolves these apparent opposites by celebrating ("sing[ing]") both at once: the individual as well as the collective, the part as well as the whole.
In the process, the speaker seems to draw an implied analogy between the single body part and the single self, and between the full human body and the whole mass of humanity:
- Just as a body needs all of its parts (from "top to toe"—a mini-antithesis!), humanity needs all of its individual members.
- No part or person is greater or lesser than another, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, these antitheses become a way of illustrating the poem's "Democratic" vision.
The speaker further expresses that vision with one more comparison: "The Female equally with the Male I sing." Again, the point is that women and men are equals within a greater, collective, democratic whole. (The speaker is expressing their own ideals here; in the late 1800s, when this poem was written, American democracy basically excluded women altogether.)
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
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Alliteration
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Repetition
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End-Stopped Line
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Parataxis
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Caesura
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“One's-Self I Sing” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Democratic
- En-Masse
- Physiology
- Physiognomy
- Worthy/Worthier
- The Form complete
- Immense
- The laws divine
Democratic-
Having to do with democracy—that is, government chosen by the people. The speaker capitalizes the word to indicate its significance (not to refer to the Democratic Party of his time).
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “One's-Self I Sing”
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Form
"One's-Self I Sing" consists of three stanzas of free verse (no meter, no rhyme scheme). The first stanza has two lines, the second three (with a very long second line), and the third three as well.
This free form is typical of Walt Whitman, who introduced free verse into American poetry and saw it as a natural vehicle for his favorite themes: democracy, freedom, equality, sexual liberation, and so on. A few decades after Whitman celebrated "The Modern Man" in this poem, free and experimental verse became a staple of the 20th-century poetic movement called "modernism."
One repeating structural feature of the poem is the phrase "I sing," which appears four times (in addition to appearing in the title): in the first line of the first two stanzas and at the end of the last two. Another such feature is the repetition of "Of" at the beginning of the second and third stanzas—an example of anaphora, of which Whitman was a master. In general, Whitman often used repeated words and phrases as a way of tying together passages and stanzas.
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Meter
The poem has no meter, as it's written in free verse. For Walt Whitman, "freeing" his poetry from the traditional structures of rhyme and meter was an ideal way to explore some of his signature themes, including freedom, democracy, and equality. He viewed his free-flowing language as distinctively American, as opposed to European.
Of course, even free verse can occasionally fall into metrical patterns. In fact, the first line of this poem contains the "da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM" rhythm of iambic pentameter:
One’s-Self I sing, a simple separate person,
(It's also possible to scan the first foot here as a spondee, or two stressed beats in a row: One’s-Self. Either way, the line's overarching rhythm remains iambic.)
The same pattern appears in the first line of Whitman's masterpiece, the similarly titled "Song of Myself," which begins: "I celebrate myself, and sing myself." It's as if Whitman's using this conventional meter as a jumping-off point before exploring freer rhythms.
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Rhyme Scheme
The poem is written in free verse, so it has no meter or rhyme scheme. (It does, however, repeat the phrase "I sing" at the end of its last two stanzas, adding some structure and rhythm.) As noted in the Form and Meter sections, Whitman rarely used conventional meter or rhyme, instead preferring forms that he felt reflected the freedom of "Democratic" America (see line 2).
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“One's-Self I Sing” Speaker
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Though not identified by name, gender, etc., the speaker frames themselves as a traditional poet-figure "sing[ing]" their verses to "the Muse" (an allusion to the Muses, or goddesses of artistic inspiration, from ancient Greek mythology). As such, readers can take the speaker as being Whitman himself.
In general, Whitman presented himself as a poet speaking on behalf of his young, democratic nation, the United States. In his famous poem "Song of Myself," whose title this poem echoes, he calls himself "Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son." This grand, "cosmic" version of himself is the implied speaker of virtually all the poems in his major collection, Leaves of Grass—including "One's-Self I Sing," the poem he ultimately placed first in the book.
The Walt Whitman of the poems is typically optimistic, encouraging, and affirming. As a passionate advocate of "Democra[cy]," he celebrates the "worth[iness]" of the human body, of people from all backgrounds, and of "Life" as a whole.
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“One's-Self I Sing” Setting
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The poem has no clear physical or geographical setting. Whitman's work is closely associated with his country, the United States, which he once called "essentially the greatest poem" and often mentioned in connection with his "Democratic" themes. However, this poem is a more universal statement about democracy and equality; it's not tied to a particular place.
Although it's not tied to a particular time period, either, it does mention "Modern[ity]" in the final line ("The Modern Man I sing"). For Whitman, democracy was part of what defined modernity; he celebrated America and other democracies that had rebelled against their autocratic pasts. His celebration of the "Modern" here suggests that the poem is very much set in his own moment: that is, the late 1800s.
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Literary and Historical Context of “One's-Self I Sing”
Literary Context
The first version of what became "One's-Self I Sing" appeared in the fourth (1867) edition of Walt Whitman's magnum opus, Leaves of Grass. Titled "Inscription," it kicked off the collection and began like this:
SMALL is the theme of the following Chant, yet the
greatest—namely, ONE'S-SELF—that wondrous
thing, a simple, separate person.The version called "One's-Self I Sing" then became the first poem in the fifth (1871-72) edition of Leaves of Grass. This sprawling collection of poems grew and evolved all through Whitman's life. The first edition appeared in 1855, but by the time Whitman died in 1892, he had revised and reprinted it seven times, and every edition sprouted a few new poems. "One's-Self I Sing" is quintessential Whitman: a free-verse, first-person reflection on individuality, democracy, and freedom. In many ways, it serves as a thesis statement for the book as a whole.
Whitman is often seen as a founding father of the 19th-century American Transcendentalist movement. Both imbued with mysticism and firmly rooted in the natural landscape, his poetry was both inspired by and an inspiration to fellow American writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Since his death, he has become a model for a wide range of well-known poets, from Allen Ginsberg to Pablo Neruda.
Yet, like his contemporary Emily Dickinson, Whitman also developed a unique, inimitable style. He pioneered free verse at a time when most poetry was still bound by metrical convention, and he's still considered a master of the technique. More than 200 years after his birth, he remains one of America's, and the world's, most beloved poets. Some of his lines are so famous they're almost proverbial: for instance, "I am large, I contain multitudes" is a gem from his masterpiece, "Song of Myself."
By the time Whitman wrote "One's-Self I Sing," the sprawling "Song of Myself" had already become one of his best-known works. The later poem alludes to, and distills some of the themes of, the earlier poem. Here, Whitman makes clear that he doesn't just celebrate "Myself"; he celebrates "One's-Self"—the individual person, no matter who they are. Likewise, line 2 here—"[I] utter the word Democratic"—echoes a famous line from "Song of Myself," which declares that "I give the sign of democracy." And the celebration of human "physiology from top to toe" (line 3) echoes similar praise in "Song of Myself," section 3:
Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any man hearty and clean,
Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be less familiar than the rest.Historical Context
During the period in which Whitman wrote most of his poems, including "One's-Self I Sing," the United States had been a nation for less than 100 years. From the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855), Whitman positioned himself as the proud bard of his young country, claiming that "The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem." "One’s-Self I Sing" voices his strong belief in American democracy, and specifically praises the cause of women's equality ("The Female equally with the Male I sing") some 50 years before American women won the right to vote.
When Whitman wrote "One’s-Self I Sing," the U.S. had just been through its Civil War (1861-1865). A fervent believer in universal human connectedness, Whitman was staunchly anti-slavery and pacifistic. He never went to war himself, but saw plenty of wartime misery as a volunteer nurse. His experiences of those atrocities (and his post-war grief over Abraham Lincoln, whom he deeply admired) would inspire some of his most famous poems.
While Whitman sometimes despaired over humanity's way of making the same terrible mistakes over and over, he was ultimately optimistic about the beauty and worth of existence. The hopeful vision of democracy in "One’s-Self I Sing" reflects his persistent faith in human fellowship—and in "Life" as a whole.
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More “One's-Self I Sing” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poet's Life and Work — Read a biography of Walt Whitman at the Poetry Foundation.
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A Whitman Documentary — Watch a PBS documentary about the poet.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of "One's-Self I Sing."
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A Poetic Revolutionary — Watch a biographical clip about how "Walt Whitman Revolutionised American Poetry."
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Leaves of Grass — Browse an 1871 edition of Whitman's masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, in which "One's-Self I Sing" appears as the first poem in the collection.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Walt Whitman
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