Lesson 3: O Me! O Life! A O Me! O Life! Walt Whitman Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish, Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew'd, Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me, Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined, The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me. O life? Answer. That you are here—that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

B Listen to the poem using the following YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGZo87If2T8

C Answer the following questions: i. What is the main theme of the poem? ii. What recurring questions does the poet mention? iii. What does the poet mean by 'useless years'? iv. Is age an identity marker? What are the attributes of old age? v. What do 'sordid' and 'plodding' mean? vi. What 'faith' does the poet mention here? vii. Is there a symbolic meaning of 'contribute a verse' in the last line? viii. Do you find the answer section of the poem convincing?

D Pair work: There are some words in the poem like 'fill'd' and 'renew'd'. These are called 'contractions'. Make a list of such words in pairs with the help of your subject teacher.

E Write a summary of the poem and present it in the class.