Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I
contradict myself, I am large, I contain
multitudes.
Steve Zocher
Justin Waters
WALT WHITMAN
HISTORY
Born May 31, 1819 in Long Island.
 Second of nine children.
 Served as publisher, editor, pressman, and
distributor of The Long Islander.
 In 1848 joined the Free Soil party in New York
 Suffered a stroke in 1873.
 Died March 26, 1892.
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HISTORY II
Fervently anti-slavery and held spiritual beliefs
that coincided with ideas of deism
 Most significant collection of poetry was
entitled Leaves of Grass in 1855
 Decided in 1850 to write poetry after his first
novel wasn’t a success.
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SEXUALITY
Assumed to be homosexual or bisexual.
 Possible lovers include Peter Doyle and Bill
Duckett.
 Whitman often depicted sexuality in his poetry.
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POETIC STYLES AND THEMES
Father of free verse.
 Used unusual symbols in his poetry, such as
rotting leaves and debris.
 Most common themes included death and
sexuality.
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A GLIMPSE
A GLIMPSE, through an interstice caught,
Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room, around the
stove,
late of a winter night--And I unremark'd seated in a corner;
Of a youth who loves me, and whom I love, silently approaching,
and
seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand;
A long while, amid the noises of coming and going--of drinking
and
oath and smutty jest,
There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little,
perhaps not a word.
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TO A STRANGER
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Passing stranger! you do not know
How longingly I look upon you,
You must be he I was seeking,
Or she I was seeking
(It comes to me as a dream)
I have somewhere surely
Lived a life of joy with you,
All is recall'd as we flit by each other,
Fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,
You grew up with me,
Were a boy with me or a girl with me,
I ate with you and slept with you, your body has become
not yours only nor left my body mine only,
You give me the pleasure of your eyes,
face, flesh as we pass,
You take of my beard, breast, hands,
in return,
I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you
when I sit alone or wake at night, alone
I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again
I am to see to it that I do not lose you.
OH CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
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O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
The arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
WALT WHITMAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyUTDJ72q
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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdXhWS7lL
vs
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WORKS CITED
Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman Poems." N.p.,
1 Mar. 2003. Web. 21 May 2013.