Whitman’s poem, “Leaves of Grass,” is considered a masterpiece of American literature. It comprises poems written between 1855 and 1892 that glorify America by looking at the landscape, history, and people through the eyes of a creative thinker. The first poem in “Leaves of Grass” is titled “Song of Myself (Norton).” It is a poem in which Whitman uses attempts to establish the connection between the spirit and the sexual being, which all other writers to that point have always separated. “Clear and sweet is my soul …. And clear and sweet is all that is not my soul” (line 44). In this line Whitman is tying together the body and the soul. He feels in order to be a well-rounded individual who is completely happy wi

am silent, and go bathe and admire myself” (lines 45-48).

“Song of Myself” can be classified as either romantic, transcendental, or as realism. Whitman uses tenants of all three periods throughout this work. It is obvious that Whitman is a romantic writer. He begins many lines of his poem with I, and he uses references to nature to symbolize his thoughts. Today, Whitman is known as the Great American I, because of his individualistic approach to poetry, as seen in “Song of Myself.” After reading this poem, one can conclude Whitman is not interested in conventional thought. His attempt to connect sexuality to the human spirit, in this writer’s opinion, is very transcendental. Whitman’s controversial views and very evident propensity towards homosexuality, “Twenty-eight young men bathe by the shore, / Twenty-eight young men, and all so friendly, / twenty-eight years of womanly life, and all so lonesome” (lines 193-195), which of course the vast majority of Americans at the time did not want to even think about, is why this writer feels his work also covers the tenants of realism. Whitman’s free verse and rhythmic innovations were distinctly in contrast to the rigid rhyming schemes and structural patterns that were considered fundamental to poetic expression of the time. Old Testament poetry and the sacred books of India such as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is a form similar to that of thought-rhyme, definitely had an influence on Whitman. Whitman was also a fan of the Opera in New York City, which also influenced the rhythm, and cadences of his writings. Because of this, many composers have taken Whitman’s poetry

Some topics in this essay:
Walt Whitman, Herald Emerson, Whitman American, York City, Herald Whitman’s, Emerson American, Constructing Whitman, India Bhagavad-Gita, “leaves grass”, walt whitman, Whitman Whitman, poem “leaves grass”, poem “leaves, “song myself”, writing style, american literature, / twenty-eight, whitman’s poetry, vast majority, free verse,