15+ Must-Read Walt Whitman Poems

Q: When was the first edition of Leaves of Grass published?

The first edition of ' Leaves of Grass ' was published in 1855 by Whitman himself.

Q: What is Walt Whitman best known for?

He is best known for his collection ' Leaves of Grass ' which includes the vast majority of his writing. Many of these poems have been cited by poets around the world as sources of inspiration.

(15 to start, 50+ to explore)

Walt Whitman, renowned for his collection ‘Leaves of Grass,’ is known as the father of free verse poetry. His innovative approach, bridging Transcendentalism and Realism, has left an indelible mark on the literary world.

When writing about Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, fellow American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to the collection as:

…the wonderful gift of Leaves of Grass. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed.

Whitman’s deeply emotional, spiritual, and nature-centric poems appeal to poetry lovers around the world. His poetry has helped define him as one of the most popular poets of all time, especially in America.

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O Captain! My Captain!

Saddened by the results of the American civil war, Walt Whitman wrote the elegy, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ in memory of deceased American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The civil war occurred during his lifetime with Whitman a staunch supporter of unionists.

Walt Whitman is considered one of the most important poets in American literary history, known for his unconventional free verse style, as is demonstrated in this poem, and his celebration of individualism, democracy, and the beauty of the natural world. His poetry reflects the changing social and cultural landscape of the United States in the 19th century and continues to inspire readers today.

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;

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Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd

Whitman’s ‘Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd’ delves into the intimate farewell between lovers, promising an eternal reunion amidst life’s cycle.

Walt Whitman captures the poignant moment of parting between two lovers, juxtaposing the final words of a dying partner with the living's affirmations of an everlasting bond. This two-stanza poem, written in Whitman's signature free verse, employs anaphora and alliteration to enhance its lyrical quality, while the extensive use of personal pronouns deepens the sense of intimacy and personal connection. It reflects on love's power to transcend the boundaries of life and death, offering solace in the continuity of the natural cycle.

Out of the rolling ocean the crowd came a drop gently to me,

Whispering, I love you, before long I die,

I have travell’d a long way merely to look on you to touch you,

For I could not die till I once look’d on you,

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Nationality: American

Emotion: Sadness

Topics: Life Struggles, Sea

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Me Imperturbe

‘Me Imperturbe’ by Walt Whitman describes a speaker’s dedication to maintaining his mental and emotional state in the face of varying challenges.

This poem is about a speaker’s dedication to maintaining his current mental and emotional state of being in the face of the challenges the world throws at him. The natural world allows him to shake off some of the clutter of his everyday life and free his mind. The experience also opens his mind enough so that he realizes that nothing he does, in the way of jobs or careers, would put his true self at risk.

Me imperturbe, standing at ease in Nature,

Master of all, or mistress of all—aplomb in the midst

of irrational things,

Imbued as they—passive, receptive, silent as they,

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When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

Walt Whitman’s ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer’ emphasizes the significance of experiencing nature to access deeper knowledge.

This poem is a quintessential example of Walt Whitman work. The poem’s free verse and transcendental themes are hallmarks of Whitman’s style, showcasing his ability to merge individual experience with a profound appreciation for nature.

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

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Themes: Beauty, Celebration, Desire, Identity, Relationships, Spirituality

Emotions: Confidence, Excitement, Freedom, Joyfulness, Passion

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LGBTQ

Form: Free Verse

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I Sing the Body Electric

‘I Sing the Body Electric’ by Walt Whitman is one of the poet’s well-known and celebrated early poems. It was published in 1855, in the first edition of Leaves of Grass.

The speaker compares the body and the soul in this piece. He comes to the conclusion that they are much more similar than they are different. There is a dense and thrilling list of images in the second part of the poem that outlines why the body is a beautiful thing. He also places himself in the body of a slave auctioneer, whose job it is to sell black bodies. All parts of these bodies he speaks on are parts of the soul.

I sing the body electric,

The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them,

They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,

And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the soul.

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I Dream’d in a Dream

Whitman’s ‘I Dream’d in a Dream’ envisions a utopian city governed by love, exploring the potential of human nature and the future.

In 'I Dream'd in a Dream,' Whitman imagines a city founded on love, where every decision is made with altruism. This short poem delves into utopia, love, and the essence of human nature, presenting a wistful yet optimistic vision. However, the realization that this city exists only in the speaker's mind prompts reflection on the feasibility of such a world, blending hope with a poignant acknowledgment of reality.

I DREAM'D in a dream, I saw a city invincible to the

attacks of the whole of the rest of the earth;

I dream'd that was the new City of Friends;

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The Ship Starting

Whitman’s ‘The Ship Starting’ personifies the sea’s competitive force, vividly capturing a ship’s brave venture into tumultuous waters.

This is a concise yet impactful poem that personifies the sea, depicting a ship's daring journey into dangerous waters. Through just six lines, Whitman employs powerful imagery and repetition, particularly of "s" sounds, to evoke the sea's dynamic movement and its dual role as an adversary and an ally to the ship. This brief glimpse into the ship's voyage touches on themes of travel, bravery, and the interplay between strife and strength, showcasing Whitman's skill in conveying profound narratives within a limited text.

Lo, the unbounded sea,

On its breast a ship starting, spreading all sails, carrying even her

moonsails,

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On the Beach at Night Alone

‘On the Beach at Night Alone’ by Walt Whitman is a powerful poem. In it, Whitman discusses how everything that has ever existed or will ever exist is connected.

This poem is regarded as one of Whitman's finest poems. Its themes of interconnectedness, spirituality, and the beauty of nature, as well as its innovative free-form style, have made it a beloved and enduring work of literature.

A vast similitude interlocks all,

All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets,

All distances of place however wide,

All distances of time, all inanimate forms,

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Sometimes with One I Love

Whitman’s ‘Sometimes with One I Love’ delves into the poignant beauty of unrequited love, revealing how it inspires profound creativity.

This short and powerful love poem speaks on the benefits that one can get from simply being in love, even if that love is not returned. The speaker is aware that his relationship with a “certain” person may not advance any further, but that does not stop him from loving them. The love he has carried for this person has allowed him other benefits, such as “these songs.”

Sometimes with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I effuse unreturn’d love,

But now I think there is no unreturn’d love, the pay is certain one way or another

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A Noiseless Patient Spider

‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’ by Walt Whitman is a beautiful discussion of the human soul that uses a spider as a metaphor.

The speaker spends the poem watching a spider. It is on a rock overlooking the ocean. Although it is small, the impact on the area and the speaker is clear. It weaves a complex, beautiful web. The speaker pays close attention to how, string by string, the spider completes its task. By the end of the poem, the larger importance of the text as a metaphor is made clear. He says that he sees the spider and its web as a metaphor for his soul.

A noiseless patient spider,

I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,

Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,

It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,

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Beginning My Studies

Whitman’s ‘Beginning My Studies’ captures the immediate joy found in nature’s simplicity and complexity.

In this short six-line poem, Whitman’s speaker describes his experience upon stepping outside to begin his “studies.” when looking around, he was overwhelmed with joy by the most uncomplicated and most complicated of natural forms. He knew that he would not have to travel any further than one step in order to find what he was looking for. This poem explores themes of nature, interconnectivity, and joy.

Beginning my studies, the first step pleas’d me so much,

The mere fact, consciousness—these forms—the power of motion,

The least insect or animal—the senses—eyesight—love;

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Nationality: American

Themes: Beauty, Nature

Emotion: Joyfulness

Topics: Strength, Trees

Forms: Blank Verse, Free Verse

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I Saw in Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing

‘I Saw in Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing’ by Walt Whitman describes a solitary oak tree that is thriving without companionship or support.

The speaker comes upon the tree and takes note of its position. It is alone in the landscape and is covered with moss. The speaker is amazed by the tree’s ability to live on its own, without companionship. He realizes that he would not be able to do the same. By the end of the poem, the speaker’s dependence on other people is seen as both a strength and a weakness.

I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing,

All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches,

Without any companion it grew there uttering joyous leaves of dark green,

And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself,

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In Paths Untrodden

‘In Paths Untrodden’ champions the necessity of companions, defining it as an affectionate and possibly romantic bond between men that defies societal standards.

Whitman's poem hinges on a revelation of identity and purpose uncovered in the solitude of nature. This epiphany reveals to the speaker a previously unacknowledged desire to celebrate and participate in what they refer to as "manly attachment," which can be interpreted as a call for passionate camaraderie and an embrace of sensual intimacy. One delivered with a liberating intensity and urgency that is frequently exhibited in his poetry.

In paths untrodden,

In the growth by margins of pond-waters,

Escaped from the life that exhibits itself,

From all the standards hitherto publish'd—from the

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As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days

‘As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days’ by Walt Whitman offers a timeless examination of the poet’s purpose in a world that is constantly changing due to forces that only appear more tangible than poetry.

This poem by Walt Whitman finds the Transcendentalist poet engaging with possibly the most grandiose topic he's ever addressed in his poetry: the future. Written after the end of the American Civil War during the final decades of the 19th century, its lines muse optimistically over the trajectory of humanity's course. It also passionately reckons with the poet's purpose and essentialism in an age of incessant progress and industrialization.

As I walk these broad majestic days of peace,

(For the war, the struggle of blood finish'd, wherein, O terrific Ideal,

Against vast odds erewhile having gloriously won,

Now thou stridest on, yet perhaps in time toward denser wars,

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Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Whitman’s ‘Crossing Brooklyn Ferry’ celebrates unity across time, capturing the timeless human experience through vivid, contemplative verses.

This poem is an excellent representation of Walt Whitman's poetry. It embodies his hallmark themes of unity, interconnectedness, and the celebration of ordinary life. The poem's free verse style and profound philosophical reflections align with Whitman's distinctive poetic voice, making it a quintessential work in his canon.

Flood-tide below me! I see you face to face!

Clouds of the west—sun there half an hour high—I see you also face to face.

Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me!

On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose,

FAQs about Walt Whitman

The first edition of 'Leaves of Grass' was published in 1855 by Whitman himself.

He worked as a journalist for a Brooklyn newspaper (a job he was fired from) and then as a journalist for a paper in New Orleans. He also worked as an essayist, and later in Washington where he worked in hospitals caring for the injured.

There are many events from Whitman’s life that could be cited as an important inspiration. These include the wounding of his brother at the Fredericksburg. Whitman rushed to Virginia to see him when he found out. Events like this likely influenced his opinions on war and relationships.

He is one of the most influential American poets of all time. He’s often cited as the “father” of free-verse poetry and was constantly breaking down walls with his writing in his lifetime. His poetry is still popular to this day.

He is best known for his collection 'Leaves of Grass' which includes the vast majority of his writing. Many of these poems have been cited by poets around the world as sources of inspiration.

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