Walter Whitman

Term Paper Title	Walter Whitman
# of Words	364
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	1.46

Walter Whitman

Walter Whitman was an American poet and a
son of Long Island. His collection of poems,
"Leaves Of Grass," is considered one of the
world's major literary works.

Whitman was a true patriot. His poems sing of
the praises of the United States of America and
the cause of democracy. The poet's love of his
country grew from his faith that Americans might
reach new worldly and spiritual heights. Whitman
wrote: "The chief reason for the being of the
United States of America is to bring about the
common good will of all mankind, the solidarity
of the world."

Whitman began working on "Leaves of Grass" in
1848. This collection of poetry was so unusual
that no publisher would publish it. In 1855, he
published it himself. The edition contained only
12 poems. In the preface, Whitman said: "The
United States themselves are essentially the
greatest poem." Between 1855 and his death,
Whitman published several revised and
enlarged editions of his book. He believed that
"Leaves of Grass" had grown with his own
emotional and intellectual development.

" Song of Myself, " is considered Whitman's
greatest. It is a lyric poem told through the joyful
experiences of the narrator. Some...

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