Walt Whitman is the most important poet of the American Romantic movement. He's credited with developing a style of poetry that was distinctly American and democratic in its outlook. He wrote in simple language, so that regular folks could access his poetry easily. Sounds pretty good to us.

Whitman's poetry dwells on many of the themes that were important in American Romanticism. We'll find big doses of nature in his work, as well as reflections on freedom and democracy, and an emphasis on individualism and the imagination. He's the Poet Laureate of Romanticism.

Leaves of Grass (1855, First Edition)

Leaves Of Grass is Whitman's magnum opus. It's a collection of poetry that he worked on and revised over a period of thirty years, publishing various editions of it along the way. And it's awesome.

The poems are written in Whitman's signature style. The language is simple, and the poems are often composed in "free verse." Whitman didn't believe in sticking to poetic conventions, so his poetry wasn't written according to metrical conventions. He also didn't use rhyme. His poetic experimentation was pretty radical for the time. 

Democratic Vistas (1871)

Democratic Vistas is a prose work by Whitman written toward the end of his life. In it, he reflects on American identity and the meaning of America democracy.

The book's preoccupation with questions of democracy and freedom is right in line with American Romanticism's emphasis on these issues. But it's a long and very complicated book. We think Walt is better at writing poetry.

Chew On This

According to Walt Whitman in "Song of Myself," we must all trust each other in order for American democracy to work. Have a look at these quotations from the poem here.

Like Ralph Waldo Emerson, who influenced him, Walt Whitman was big on individualism and self-reliance, as reflected in these quotations from "Song of Myself."