Literature Library author
Walt Whitman
A concise guide to Walt Whitman's body of work, major titles, and recurring themes.
Author overview
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) was a novelist, poet, and essayist whose body of work spans elegy and poetry. This writing is associated with United States. Major works and useful reading starting points include O Captain! My Captain!, Leaves of Grass, I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing, and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd. Key themes include democracy and equality, the body and the self, and nature, work, love, and American plurality.
Reading pathway
Begin with I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing, then move to O Captain! My Captain!, then move to When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.