Anwar first read "Aku" at the Jakarta Cultural Centre in July 1943.Шаблон:Sfn It was then printed in Pemandangan under the title "Semangat" ("Spirit"); according to Indonesian literary documentarian HB Jassin, this was to avoid censorship and to better promote the nascent independence movement.Шаблон:Sfn "Aku" has gone on to become Anwar's most celebrated poem.Шаблон:Sfn
Indonesian writer Muhammad Balfas notes that one of Anwar's contemporaries, Bung Usman, wrote "Hendak Jadi Orang Besar???" ("So You Want to Be a Big Person???") in response to "Aku".Шаблон:Sfn Balfas suggests that Usman was greatly irritated by the "vitality and new way of life" that Anwar showed in the poem.Шаблон:Sfn
According to Timorese scholar of Indonesian literature A. G. Hadzarmawit Netti, the title "Aku" emphasizes Anwar's individualistic nature, while the temporary title "Semangat" reflects his vitality.Шаблон:Sfn Netti analyzes the poem itself as reflecting Anwar's need to control his environment and not be shaped by outside forces, emphasizing the first two stanzas.Шаблон:Sfn According to Netti, through controlling his environment, Anwar is able to better protect his freedom and individualistic nature.Шаблон:Sfn Netti sees the final line as reflecting Anwar's pride in his individualistic nature, finally surmising that Anwar would have agreed with Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.Шаблон:Sfn
Indonesian literary scholar Arief Budiman notes that "Aku" reflects Anwar's worldview, that others should not care for him as he does not care for others.Шаблон:Sfn Budiman also notes that the third and fourth stanzas reflect Friedrich Nietzsche's view that suffering makes one stronger.Шаблон:Sfn
