I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
In the original 1855 text, the first line read simply, “I celebrate myself.” Interestingly, despite Whitman’s trailblazing preference for free (unmetered) verse—which he uses throughout this poem—the addition of “I sing myself” makes the opening line scan as perfect iambic pentameter. In general, Leaves of Grass tends to sound iambic at times even if the meter is not highly stressed.
Whitman uses soft consonant sounds (’s") to ease his reader into the poem. The sensuous pleasure of language, the delight of the tongue in making certain sounds, is central to Whitman’s project; its importance will become clearer as you move through the poem. (Notice that one of the first things he glorifies in this section is “My tongue.”)
“Assume” could refer to assuming an idea, perspective, or position. It could also mean “to don a garment or identity,” which Whitman does with various types of people later in the poem. To tell the reader “what I assume you shall assume” requires courage and perhaps signals a certain dominance.
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