Introduction


Walt Whitman

“I contradict myself? Very well then. I contradict myself.” These lines from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” embody the complexities of this remarkable American poet. He broke all the literary rules, discarding rhyme and form in favor of free verse, and he also fought societal convention by speaking fearlessly about his homosexuality. And though many of his views may have gone against popular opinion, his poem “O Captain! My Captain!” in memory of Abraham Lincoln is one of the most patriotic in American history. In addition to his controversial political and social stances, Whitman wrote beautifully detailed reflections on nature, such as “A Noiseless Patient Spider.” Few poets have ever come close to matching his genius and wit.

Essential Facts

  1. Largely self-taught, Walt Whitman was living in New York by age 14, supporting himself by learning to set type.
  2. Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass in 1855, when he was 36 years old. The collection included twelve poems he continued to revise for most of his life. It remains his most lasting and endearing work.
  3. Because his brother George was wounded during the Civil War, Whitman became a nurse, spending most of his meager finances and time helping to heal the wounded.
  4. His admirers have included everyone from Lord Alfred Tennyson to Jack Kerouac.
  5. Whitman died in Camden, New Jersey, in 1892. He designed his own tomb. It reads simply, “Walt Whitman.”
 

Recommended Resources

  1. I Sing the Body Electric Summary - Walt Whitman
  2. Leaves of Grass Study Guide (eNotes)
  3. Walt Whitman - Criticism

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. A Noiseless Patient Spider Summary - Walt Whitman
  2. Cavalry Crossing a Ford Summary & Essays - Walt Whitman
  3. Cavalry Crossing a Ford Summary - Walt Whitman
  4. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Summary - Walt Whitman
  5. Democratic Vistas Summary - Walt Whitman
  6. I Sing the Body Electric Summary - Walt Whitman
  7. Leaves of Grass Review - Walt Whitman
  8. Leaves of Grass Study Guide (eNotes)
  9. Ode to Walt Whitman Summary - Federico García Lorca
  10. Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking Summary - Walt Whitman
  11. Overture to a Dance of Locomotives Use of Synthesis and Connection to Walt Whitman
  12. Passage to India Summary - Walt Whitman
  13. Scented Herbage of My Breast Summary - Walt Whitman
  14. Song of Myself Review - Walt Whitman
  15. Song of the Open Road Summary - Walt Whitman
  16. Specimen Days Summary - Walt Whitman
  17. The Artilleryman's Vision Summary - Walt Whitman
  18. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Leaves of Grass
  19. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Walt Whitman
  20. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on Walt Whitman
  21. The Sleepers Summary - Walt Whitman
  22. The Wound-Dresser Summary - Walt Whitman
  23. To a Locomotive in Winter Summary - Walt Whitman
  24. Walt Whitman - Criticism
  25. Walt Whitman at Bear Mountain Summary - Louis Simpson
  26. Walt Whitman Biography
  27. Walt Whitman Biography / Profile
  28. Walt Whitman Biography / Profile
  29. Walt Whitman Biography / Profile
  30. Walt Whitman Biography / Profile
  31. Walt Whitman Review - Jerome Loving
  32. Walt Whitman Summary - Babette Deutsch
  33. Walt Whitman's America Review - David S. Reynolds
  34. Walt Whitman: Builder for America Summary / Study Guide
  35. When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer Summary & Essays - Walt Whitman
  36. Whitman, Walt[er]: The Oxford Companion to American Literature
  37. Who Learns My Lesson Complete? Summary - Walt Whitman