Walt Whitman & Leaves of Grass
Lesson 3
Claims to Fame
 “The father of free-verse poetry”
 Caught in the middle of Transcendentalism and Realism.
 Can anyone define Transcendentalism?
 Realism- interest in the actual and description of things how
they truly are or appear.
Main Text(s)
 Whitman’s signature text is Leaves of
Grass, which was published in 1855.
 Some popular poems are: Song of Myself,
I Sing the Body Electric, Lilacs in the
Dooryard Bloom’d, and O Captain, My
Captain!
The Reaction?
 Emerson LOVED it. He even wrote Whitman a letter
expressing his love.
 Whitman then used this letter, without permission and
printed it as the preface to Leaves of Grass.
 As for the rest of the general public?
 OUTRAGED.
Some Themes to be Aware of:
Sexuality
Racism
Slavery
Death
Religion
Do these sound controversial to you?