In 1838 he started a short-lived newspaper, The Long Islander, and began publishing short stories and poetry. Because of his family’s itinerant lifestyle and their lower economic class, Whitman was only formally educated until 11 years of age before he began working.Īs a young man in the 1830s, Whitman worked in print shops and as a teacher, though neither provided lasting fulfillment. was a carpenter he and Whitman’s mother, Louisa, a devout American Quaker, instilled a deep love of country in Whitman from a young age. Walt Whitman (full name: Walter Whitman Jr.) was born in 1819 in Long Island, New York, to a working-class family. If at all, in-text citations refer to sections. Note to reader: Given the length of the poem, this guide doesn't include line numbers when quoting the poem. With this quintessentially American epic, Whitman changed the landscape of poetry in the United States and beyond. Among his many influential works, including “O Captain! My Captain!,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, “Song of Myself” stands out as Whitman’s masterpiece.

Reflecting the incredible diversity of the United States itself, “Song of Myself” shifts easily from personal narrative to reams of data, from erotic fantasy to musings on religion and morality. While “Song of Myself” received a lukewarm reception at best in Whitman’s lifetime, it is now recognized by literary scholars as one of the greatest American poems. In its final form, the poem is divided into 52 sections, thought to represent the 52 weeks of the year. It was not until the 1881 edition that it acquired the title “Song of Myself,” as well as the section breaks which most modern publications include.

In the second edition, it was called “Poem of Walt Whitman, an American,” which was shortened to simply “Walt Whitman” in the third edition. In its original iteration, it did not have a title. “Song of Myself” underwent several major structural changes over the years.

Leaves of grass song of myself