Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself": A Mosaic of Interpretations

Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a remarkable encyclopedia of how Whitman's greatest poem has been received by critics and poets since its appearance in 1855. From the beginning the poem has posed difficulties for readers because of the absence of rhyme, the free meter, the startling introduction of nonpoetic diction and erotic materials, and the richness and subtlety of a poet who ventured into new poetic territory in his effort to establish himself as the first bard of the democracy. …