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LeavesofGrassOnJuly4,2005,wecelebratedthe150thanniversaryofwhatispossiblythegreatestbookofAmericanpoetryeverwritten.in1855,WaltWhitmanpublishedhisfirsteditionofLeavesofGrass,aslimvolumeconsistingoftwelveuntitledpoemsandapreface.Well-knownpoemsinthe1855editionincludeSongofMyself,alongpoeminfifty-twosections,whichisconsideredbymanytobehismasterpiece.ItcontainssuchnotablelinesasIamlarge,IcontainmultitudesandIbequeathmyselftothedirttogrowfromthegrassIlove,/Ifyouwantmeagainlookformeunderyourboot-soles.LeavesofGrassUponpublication,hesentacopytoRalphWaldoEmerson.TheletterfromEmersonincludedthenowfamousline:Igreetyouatthebeginningofagreatcareer.“LeavesofGrassgrewthroughitsfivesubsequentversionsineighteditionsintoaheftybookof389poems,infourteensprawlingsections:Eachsectionisself-contained,asifitwereabookinitself.LeavesofGrassThecriticalandpopularresponsetoLeavesofGrasswasmixedandbewildered.Themajorityofthereaderswhohappenedtohavecomeuponthebookseemtohavebeensimplyindifferent.LeavesofGrassLeavesofGrassAfewweeksafterthebook’spublication,EmersonacknowledgedthegiftinaletterinwhichdeclaredthathefoundincomparablethingssaidincomparablywellinLeavesofGrass.ThepraisefromtheauthorofSelf-RelianceandThePoetwasenoughtooutweightheindifferenceorhostilityofallotherreadersandtostartWhitmanonhisplansforthe1856edition.ReactionstoWhitmanhavebeenatbothextremes:hisbookhasbeenbannedforsensualityonedecade,andthenpraisedasthecornerstoneofAmericanpoeticsthenext.Withtheupcoming150thanniversary,America'spoetsandcriticshavefoundunmediatedloveforourmostAmericanpoet,themanwhocametoshapetheirideasofnationhood,democracy,andfreedom.Itisunlikelytobecomeaburiedmasterpieceagain.LeavesofGrassWhitman'sgreatsubjectwasAmerica,buthewroteonanexpansivevarietyofsmallersubjectstoaccomplishthetaskofcapturingtheessenceofthiscountry.Someofhismanysubjectsincludedslavery,democracy,thevariousoccupationsandtypesofwork,theAmericanlandscape,thesea,thenaturalworld,theCivilWar,education,aging,deathandimmortality,poverty,romanticlove,spirituality,andsocialchange.LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleWhitman'spoetryisdemocraticinbothitssubjectmatteranditslanguage.WeseeWhitmanbreakingnewgroundinbothsubjectmatteranddiction.Subjects:thenewAmerica;himselfThestatedmissionofhispoetrywas,inhiswords,tomake[a]nattempttoputaPerson,ahumanbeing(myself,inthelatterhalfofthe19thcentury,inAmerica)freely,fully,andtrulyonrecord.LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleWhitman'sgreatestlegacyishisinventionofatrulyAmericanfreeverse.Althoughwritteninfreeverse,meaningthatitisnotstrictlymeteredorrhymed,sectionsofLeavesofGrassapproachiambicmeter.LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleRhyme:therepetitionofsimilarsounds.Inpoetry,themostcommonkindofrhymeisendrhyme,whichoccursattheendoftwoormroelines.Internalrhymeoccursinthemiddleofaline,asintheselinesfromColeridge,Inmistorcloud,onmastorshroudorWhilesallthenightthroughfog-smokewhite(TheAncientMariner).Therearemanykindsofendrhyme:LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleTruerhymeiswhatmostpeoplethinkofasrhyme;thesoundsarenearlyidentical--notion,motion,potion,forexample.Weakrhyme,referstowordswithsimilarbutnotidenticalsounds,e.g.,notion-nation,bear-bore,ear-are.EmilyDickinsonfrequentlyusespartialrhymes.Eyerhymeoccurswhenwordslookalikebutdon'tsoundalike--e.g.,bear-ear.LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleMeter:arhythmofaccentedandunaccentedsyllableswhichareorganizedintorepeatedpatterns,calledfeet.Iambic:afootconsistingofanunaccentedandaccentedsyllable.Shakespeareoftenusesiambic,forexamplethebeginningofHamlet'sspeech,Tobeornottobe.Comelivewithmeandbemylove.LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleTrochaic:afootconsistingofanaccentedandunaccentedsyllable.Longfellow'sHiawathausesthismeter,whichcanquicklybecomesingsong(theaccentedsyllableisitalicized):BytheshoresofGitcheGumeeBytheshiningBig-Sea-water.Thethreewitches'speechinMacbethusesit:Double,double,toilandtrouble.LeavesofGrass:SubjectsandStyleImageryisanyliteraryreferencetothefivesenses(sight,touch,smell,hearing,andtaste).Essentially,imageryisagroupofwordsthatcreateamentalimage.Suchimagescanbecreatedbyusingfiguresofspeechsuchassimiles,metaphors,personification.Imageryisalsothetermusedtorefertothecreation(orre-creation)ofanyexperienceinthemind.LeavesofGrass:Imagery