Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass

Research Logs:

• Read some of the reviews of Whitman's Leaves of Grass published by Whitman's contemporaries; you can find a collection of essays at theWalt Whitman Hypertext Archive. What were the main arguments reviewers raised in attacking or defending the book? What do these arguments help you understand about nineteenth century America?

• Read Whitman's "Democratic Vistas." Summarize the points Whitman is making about American literature in that essay, and go on to show how he uses "Leaves of Grass" to accomplish the goals he sets forth in "Democratic Vistas."

E-mail the Lyceum Discussion Group