L2L Song of Myself

“Song of Myself”

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” was first written in 1855, and the final edition appeared in 1891 — he revised it frequently. It is at once an excursion into his life, a major statement of transcendental thought, a most patriotic poem, and the pioneering success in free verse on these shores. Leigh E. Rich and P. T. Bridgeport discuss the poem and the impact of Whitman on the American literary scene.