Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass (1855), a poetry collection by American author and poet Walt Whitman, was rewritten and reissued multiple times during Whitman’s lifetime. The original volume was a small book of twelve poems, while the final version was a compilation of more than four hundred. The poems are loosely connected, representing Whitman’s celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity. The book of poems explores the theme of delight in sensual pleasures at a time when candid displays of pleasure were considered immoral. Unlike most poems at the time, which relied on religious symbolism and allegory, Leaves of Grass concentrated on exalting the body and the material world. Heavily influenced by the Transcendentalist movement and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the poems fuse praise of the human form and the human mind. The format of the poems shifts radically, and does not tend to follow standard rules for meter and line length. Highly controversial upon its release due to its explicit sexual imagery, the book was panned by most poetry critics during Whitman’s lifetime. However, it has become one of the most enduring works of American poetry, still widely read and studied today as one of Whitman’s defining works.

Leaves of Grass is divided into several sections. The opening segment, “Inscriptions,” gives the reader an overview of the work and an introduction to the author’s perspective. The focus of the work is what Whitman refers to as “one’s self,” referring to Whitman’s self, the reader’s self, and an all-encompassing self within the nation. This segment contains poems relating to politics, society, personal affairs, and sexual affairs—all concepts he expands on later in the work. The second segment, “Starting from Paumanok,” serves as a road map for the book where Whitman describes his own literary journey, starting with his childhood home on Long Island. Whitman describes the people and places that have influenced him along the way, and describes their impact on his soul. All his poems, Whitman says, are written with the soul in mind. The third section, “Song of Myself,”was one of the first written. It is where Whitman describes his perspective on the quintessential modern man, which he has come to find through nature and his own personal journey of self-discovery. This is where he creates his own poetic world and describes the desires of the human soul.

The most controversial section of the book, “Calamus,” is noted for its clear autoerotic and homosexual themes. Whitman explores in depth the love that men feel for each other, be it brotherly love, familial love, or sexual love. This is where Whitman explores the idea that the relationships men have with each other are incomplete until they explore all levels of love, friendship, and intimacy. In “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,”Whitman explores the unity of the collective population. He observes people crossing the river from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and muses on how we are united as a whole in a larger scheme. Whitman avoids specific philosophical or religious theories, instead attempting to make people realize that they are united through time and through writing.



Whitman was heavily influenced by the events of the Civil War, in which he served. He writes two segments on the topic:“Drum-Taps,” which begins with a call to arms but evolves into a darker look at the failings of democracy and the tragedy of war; and “Memories of President Lincoln,” Whitman’s tribute to the assassinated President and the legacy he left behind. In Whitman’s most famous poem, “O Captain! My Captain!,” he compares Lincoln to the fallen captain of a ship that has triumphed through a difficult journey. The closing segments continue to explore the themes and motifs of the previous sections, while placing a larger emphasis on the journey of discovery and exploration of the self. Whitman examines his understanding of life and death, and comes to view death as a regeneration of life. The final poem, “Songs of Parting,” emphasizes this theme as he says goodbye to readers for now, encouraging readers to live well, so as to continue to live on long after their physical form is gone. He expresses the hope that he will live on as well.

Walt Whitman, an American poet and journalist, is considered one of the most influential poets in American history. A noted humanist who helped mark the transition between transcendentalism and realism, he is often known as the father of free verse. In addition to Leaves of Grass, his most enduring and controversial work, he also wrote several collections of letters and observations of the politics of the time. He also wrote Franklin Evans, a temperance novel aimed to discourage the consumption of alcohol. Whitman was politically active in his life, a staunch anti-slavery activist and an advocate for a more open-minded society. He is considered a major influence in the development of Beat Culture, and is still widely read and honored today, with his work influencing countless modern poets.