Chanting the Square Analysis

Much of Walt Whitman's life was spent in search of finding his transcendental self. A lot of this transcendental self had something to do with soul or religion. Whitman wrote a poem titled "Chanting the Square Deific" and it is a very different view on religion. It shows four sides to faith essentially. As a Christian, one believes in the father the son and the whole spirit. The Square Deific is four different aspects however (Whitman). It is God, Christ, Satan and the soul (Oliver). The square deific was part of Whitman's search for his transcendental self.

The first stanza is God, or the father. God is a very general term because God is different in many different cultures. The god of Whitman's poem believes that "whoever sins dies" (Whitman). There is no such belief in forgiveness or redemption. This is very different than today's christian view of God. God today forgives one's sins and is understanding in comparison to this god who seems to be merciless and does not forgive one's sins. This god is extremely strict.

The next part of the square, and the second stanza is Christ, or the son. A lot of people think that God and Christ are the same thing, but they are two different sides of the square. In this poem he is not merciless like God, he is very understanding. He acknowledges that he went through crucifiction, and would do it again (Whitman). Hercules and Hermes are both referenced in this poem because they are half god characters. Christ shall absorb all the sorrow and the suffering in the world (Whitman). This Christ is much more similar to today's Christian God. Christ is very concerned with others and their sins and not all about oneself. Christ would be a good figure for one to look up to for their transcendental self because he is selfless and understanding.

Satan is the next part of the square. Before ever reading the poem one could tell that Satan and God are opposites which is why they are on opposite sides of the square. Whitman believes that Satan is both good and evil, and that a truly well rounded person is going to have both good and bad traits (Whitman). Whitman says that Satan is as proud as any and will not change his ways of a fallen angel. Whitman probably had a dark side to him and sometime expressed qualities Satan had. Everyone has bad qualities whether or not they want to admit it. Satan is just better known by others for his bad qualities. Other people see these qualities and know him for them, and what other people see you is part of the transcendental self.

The final stanza and side of the square is spirit. It is very abstract in comparison to the other three sides because there is no one person that spirit represents unlike the other three. Every since children were little they would go to Sunday school and learn about God, Christ, and Satan, but they never learn about spirit. Whitman says the spirit is the most solid (Whitman). The spirit can represent many things. The spirit is a breather of life (Whitman).

The spirit is going to be a huge part of one's transcendental self because the soul is responsible for purpose of life and is a very important part. Whitman's transcendental self is largely made up by the Spirit as well as the other three sides. All four sides of the square deific are going to help one decide on their transcendental self.


Oliver, Charles M. "'Chanting the Square Deific'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW082&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 3, 2012).


Whitman, Walt. "Chanting the Square Deific." The Walt Whitman Archive. Ed. Kenneth M. Price. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. .

Journal #29

My transcendental self is devised of three things. It is made up of my soul or spiritual self, my self which is my personality or self perception, and the real me which is other's perception and reality. With in my self there is an every man which is devised of self and real me. As far as soul goes or my spiritual self, I would say I am fairly spiritual. I definitely believe in God and all of that, but I do not attend church every single weekend not because I do not want to or think it is a waste of time but because I am usually working. Personally I believe that everyone should not have to work on Sundays and then we could all go to church. As far as my personality goes I believe that I am very out going. I love to meet new people and make all kinds of new friends. I also think people should all be very nice to people. Even if you do not like people you should still try to be nice. Most people might call this fake, but I call this mature. It is important to be nice to people because you never know what they are struggling through. I am not to sure what others see as the real me, I hope that the perception others see is outgoing and nice, but I never really know. I also think I have a good work ethic as part of my self. I work very hard at work and at school because I know it will all pay off one day. A philosophy or whatever of Whitman is that all nature and people reflect the idea of self. I think that I somewhat represent the basic teenager and do a good job representing them. There are definitely worse teenagers out there, but I am sure there are better too. That is why the whole idea of self is all of us teenagers or people all mixed together in one big melting pot.