I Sit and Look Out

"Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman (1855)

The “What is the Grass” section of “Song of Myself” shows Whitman’s ability to take a simple child’s question, “What is the grass?” and answer in an ever-expanding range of metaphorical answers, relying on his trademark catalogs and parallelism.

"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d" by Walt Whitman (1865)

Whitman’s masterpiece is an elegy to Abraham Lincoln. While it is a lament for the assassinated president, it is also a lament for the nation that has just been through four years of war and must find a way to heal the wounds civil strife.

"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman (1856)

Unlike “I Sit and Look Out,” which is weighed down by sorrow and lack of action, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” is full of movement as Whitman’s speaker travels by ferry and delights in the sights and sounds of the city crowds. He also travels through time, imagining future riders of the ferry and speaking directly to them about the exuberance of America.

"Why Walt Whitman Called America the ‘Greatest Poem’" by Karen Swallow Prior (2016)

In this article for The Atlantic, Prior connects the political upheavals surrounding the 2016 presidential election with the political upheavals that inspired much of Whitman’s poetry.