Leaves of Grass: First and Death-Bed Editions
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122 (p. 650) “Going Somewhere”: This poem alludes to Anne Gilchrist, an Englishwoman (and wife of William Blake’s biographer) who greatly admired Whitman and developed a friendship with him. Gilchrist died in 1885.
123 (p. 658) As the Greek’s Signal Flame: First published in the New York Herald of December 15, 1887, the poem celebrates the birthday of the American poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), who had corresponded with Whitman.
124 (p. 661) Preface Note to 2d Annex, Concluding L. of G.—1891: Spontaneous-sounding remarks like these introduce or expand the themes of other poems in the collection, giving this cluster a “conversational” tone.
125 (p. 667) Shakspere-Bacon’s Cipher: This poem engages in the questions regarding Shakespeare’s identity and the authorship of the plays.
126 (p. 668) Bravo, Paris Exposition!: This poem celebrates the 1889 Paris Exposition and indicates Whitman’s interest in progress and invention in his final years.
127 (p. 673) Osceola: This poem memorializes the bravery of the Seminole leader Osceola, who died, as Whitman indicates, in 1838.
128 (p. 674) A Voice from Death: This poem memorializes the thousands who died when a dam collapsed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
129 (p. 677) Mirages: This poem’s introductory note is fictional: Whitman never visited Nevada. The veracity of other unverifiable introductory statements—such as the one for “The Rounded Catalogue Divine Complete”—is thus called into question.
130 (p. 679) Good-Bye My Fancy!: Though “fancy” more commonly designates the imagination, the poet may be bidding his own body or physical presence farewell in this poem (consider the line “Exit, nightfall, and soon the heart-thud stopping”). “Fancy” might also be something (or someone) the poet has treasured and fantasized about for an extended time.
131 (p. 681) A Backward Glance o‘er Travel’d Roads: In a note to his “Prefatory Letter to the Reader, Leaves of Grass 1889,” Whitman told his public that he favored this edition of his writings: “As there are now several editions of L. of G., different texts and dates, I wish to say that I prefer and recommend the present one, complete, for future printing.” The essay “A Backward Glance o’er Travel’d Roads” has thus remained in volumes of his collected poetry, while also collected in Complete Prose Works (1892). Along with the “[Preface]” to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, “A Backward Glance” frames Whitman’s career and the body of his work. Although he had grown more pessimistic about his reception since his poetic beginnings, he remained determined when explaining the motivations of his project and when calling American artists to consciousness.
ADDITIONAL POEMS
Poems Written before 1855
1 (P.719) The Spanish Lady: This poem retells the tragic tale of Inez de Castro (1320-1355).
2 (p. 723) The Punishment of Pride: In 1894 Whitman’s friend and companion Horace Traubel interviewed Charles A. Roe, one of Whitman’s former students from Little Bay Side, Queens. Roe claimed that Whitman made his students memorize a poem entitled “The Fallen Angel”; to prove it, Roe recited the poem, which turned out to be a variant of “The Punishment of Pride.” See Traubel’s article “Walt Whitman, Schoolmaster: Notes of a Conversation with Charles A. Roe, 1894,” in the Walt Whitman Fellowship Papers 14 (April 1895), pp. 81-87.
3 (p. 728) The Death and Burial of McDonald Clarke: This poem was signed “W.” and designated “For the Aurora” (the Aurora was a New York newspaper of the day). Clarke (1798-1842), the so-called “Mad Poet of Broadway,” wrote several volumes of unconventional poetry and was himself a symbol of the “outsider artist.”
4 (p. 735) Song for Certain Congressmen: This poem mocks supporters of the Compromise of 1850, which granted California admittance to the Union but did not enforce legal restrictions on slavery in Utah and New Mexico. “Song for Certain Congressmen” is Whitman’s first truly political poem, and his growing political awareness is evident in the following three poems (all published over a period of less than four months).
5 (P.738) Blood-Money: In this poem, supporters of the Compromise of 1850 are compared with Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus in the New Testament.
6 (p.739) The House of Friends: The third poem inspired by the hypocrisies of the Compromise of 1850, the poem demonstrates Whitman’s increasing awareness of the division between South and North.
7 (p. 741) Resurgemus: Whitman’s inspiration here is the spirit of the European revolutions of the late 1840S; despite loss and death, the ideas of liberty and democracy live on.
Poems Excluded from the “Death-bed” Edition of Leaves of Grass (1891-1892)
8 (p. 755) Calamus. 8: Like “Calamus. 9,” the poem openly addresses the narrator’s passion for a male companion.
Poems Published after the 1891-1892 “Death-bed” Edition: Old Age Echoes
9 (p. 780) A Kiss to the Bride: This poem commemorates the wedding of the daughter of Ulysses S. Grant.
10 (p. 781) Nay, Tell Me Not To-day the Publish’d Shame: This poem critiques the passing of an act to increase the salaries of the U.S. president and other government officials.
11 (p. 783) Death’s Valley: “Death’s Valley” was inspired by the artwork of American landscape painter George Inness (1825-1894).
12 (p. 784) On the Same Picture: The title is Horace Traubel’s. The title of the manuscript (“Death’s Valley”) indicates that the stanza was meant to be included in the poem “Death’s Valley,” above.
13 (p. 784) A Thought of Columbus: In the July 16, 1892, edition of the newspaper Once a Week, Traubel explains how Whitman finished the poem and handed it to him a few days before his death.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
LEAVES OF GRASS: FIRST EDITION (1855)
[Preface], p. 7: Whitman told an admirer in 1870 that the preface had been “written hastily” before publication, and that “I do not consider it of permanent value.” He never included it in another edition of Leaves of Grass after 1855, though he revised and edited it for inclusion in Specimen Days and Collect (1882), Complete Poems and Prose (1888), and Complete Prose Works (1892). Passages from the preface have found their way into several poems, including “By Blue Ontario’s Shore” and “Song of the Answerer.”
[Song of Myself], p. 29: In the 1855 edition each of the first six poems shared the title of the book: “Leaves of Grass.” In 1856 this poem was titled “Poem of Walt Whitman, an American”; in editions from 1860 to 1871 it was simply “Walt Whitman.” “Song of Myself” was first used as a title in 1881. Through the years, Whitman’s major poetic statement was steadily revised and edited, with stanza numbers added in 1860 and section numbers in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass.
[A Song for Occupations], p. 91: This poem was headed “Leaves of Grass” in 1855. In 1856 the title became “Poem of the Daily Work of the Workmen and Workwomen of These States”; in 1860, “Chants Democratic. 3”; in 1867, ”To Workingmen“; in 1871 and 1876, ”Carol of Occupations.“ It received the current title in 1881. Whitman added stanza numbers in 1860 and section numbers in 1867.
[To Think of Time], p. 102: Given the header “Leaves of Grass” in the First Edition, this poem became “Burial Poem” in 1856 and “Burial” in 1860. “To Think of Time” was adopted as the title in 1871.
[The Sleepers], p. 109: This poem, titled “Leaves of Grass” in 1855, became “26—Night Poem” in 1856, “Sleep-Chasings” in 1860, and “The Sleepers” in 1871. Stanza numbers were added in 1860; section numbers were included in 1867. The poem is often read as the “dark twin” of “[Song of Myself],” since its action takes place at night (versus the first poem’s brilliantly illuminated daytime scenes), and its subject is an exploration of the deep levels of common psychic territory rather than the American landscape of “[Song of Myself].”
[I Sing the Body Electric], p. 119: This poem was titled “Leaves of Grass” in 1855, “7—Poem of the Body” in 1856, “Enfans d‘Adam. 3” in 1860, and ”I Sing the Body Electric“ in 1867. St
anza numbers were added in 1860, and section numbers in 1867. See p. 254 for Whitman’s final ”Death-bed“ Edition version of this poem, which includes a remarkable, sweeping listing of human body parts (added in 1856).
[Faces], p. 126: Titled “Leaves of Grass” in 1855, this poem became “27—Poem of Faces” in 1856, “Leaf of Faces” in 1860, “A Leaf of Faces” in 1867, and “Faces” in 1867. Stanza numbers were added in 1860; section numbers were added in 1867.
[Song of the Answerer], p. 130: Untitled in the 1855 edition, in 1856 lines 3—52 became “14—Poem of the Poet,” and lines 54-66 and 69-83 became “19—Poem of the Singers and of the Words of Poems.” In 1860 lines 3—52 became “Leaves of Grass,” and lines 54—66 and 69—83 became “Leaves of Grass. 6.” In 1867 lines 1—52 were titled “Now List to My Morning’s Romanza,” and lines 53-66 and 69—85 were titled “The Indications.” In 1871 lines 1—52 became “Now List to My Morning’s Romanza,” and lines 53-83 became “The Indications.” In 1881 lines 1—83 became “Song of the Answerer.”
[Europe, The 72d and 73d Years of These States], p. 133: This is the only poem published before 1855 that appeared in an edition of Leaves of Grass. It appeared as “Resurgemus” in the New York Tribune of June 21, 1850; significant modifications of the poem’s rhythms and symbolism were made between the more conventional early poem and this one. In 1855 it became the untitled eighth of the twelve First Edition poems; in 1856 it was known as “16—Poem of the Dead Young Men of Europe, The 72d and 73d Years of These States”; in 1860, “Europe, The 72d and 73d Years of These States.”
[A Boston Ballad], p. 135: Untitled in 1855, this poem became “22—Poem of Apparitions in Boston, the 78th Year of These States” in 1856; “A Boston Ballad / The 78th Year of These States” in 1860; “To Get Betimes in Boston Town” in 1867; and “A Boston Ballad (1854)” in 1871. A protest against the authorities’ handling of the 1854 Anthony Burns case (see endnote 44 to the First Edition), the poem is one of two (along with “[Europe]”; see just above) Leaves of Grass poems that are known to have been completed before 1855.
[There Was a Child Went Forth], p. 138: Untitled in 1855, this poem became “25—Poem of the Child That Went Forth, and Always Goes Forth, Forever and Forever” in 1856. In 1860 it was “Leaves of Grass. 9;” in 1867, “Leaves of Grass. 1.” It gained its current title in 1871. Several significant revisions were made to the poem over time, such as the exclusion of the last line after 1856; see “There Was a Child Went Forth” in the “Death-bed” Edition (p. 509).
[Who Learns My Lesson Complete], p. 140: Untitled in 1855, the poem became “29—Lesson Poem” in 1856, “Leaves of Grass. 11” in 1860, ”Leaves of Grass. 3” in 1867, and “Who Learns My Lesson Complete?” in 1871. This poem was heavily revised over time, with all of Whitman’s personal details (birth date, height, age) eventually dropped; see “Who Learns My Lesson Complete?” in the “Death-bed” Edition (p. 535).
[Great Are the Myths], p. 142: In 1855 this poem was untitled. In 1856 it became “6—Poem of a Few Greatnesses”; in 1860, “Leaves of Grass. 2”; from 1867 to 1871, “Great Are the Myths.” Whitman chose to exclude this poem from Leaves of Grass after 1881, except for lines 9—12, which became “Youth, Day, Old Age, and Night.” Stanzas were added in 1860, section numbers in 1871. For revisions, compare with “Great Are the Myths” on p. 744 of the “Additional Poems” section of this edition.
LEAVES OF GRASS: “DEATH-BED” EDITION (1891-1892)
Come, said my Soul, p. 147: This poem, signed in the poet’s hand, was the epigraph for Leaves of Grass (1876), Leaves of Grass (1882), Complete Poems and Prose (1888), and the “Death-bed” Edition of Leaves of Grass (1891-1892). It first appeared in the New York Daily Graphic of December 1874.
Inscriptions, p. 165: Whitman first used this cluster title in the 1871 Leaves of Grass for a group of nine poems. The present twenty-four poems were first assembled under this title in 1881.
One‘s-Self II Sing, p. 165: A shortened and simplified version of the poem on the frontispiece of the 1867 edition (included here as “Small the Theme of My Chant”; see p. 651), “One’-Self I Sing” gained its title and current form in 1871.
As I Ponder’d in Silence, p. 165: First included, and in its final form, in the 1871 Leaves of Grass. Note Whitman’s use of italics to indicate a speaking voice, which he had already experimented with in 1860’S “A Word Out of the Sea” (now known as “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”; see p. 400).
iIn Cabin’d Ships at Sea, p. 66: First included, and in its final form, in the “Inscriptions” cluster, in the 1871 edition of Leaves of Grass.
To Foreign Lands, p. 167: First appeared in the “Messenger Leaves” cluster of the 1860 edition; in its final form in 1871.
To a Historian, p. 167: In its first form as “Chants Democratic. 10” in the 1860 edition, the poem gained its current title and form in the ”Songs before Parting“ annex of 1867.
To Thee Old Cause, p. 168: First appeared in 1871; in its final form in 1881.
Eidólons, p. 168: First published in the New York Tribune of February 19, 1876, the poem was included in Two Rivulets (1876) and moved to the “Inscriptions” cluster in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass.
For Him I Sing, p. 171: First included, and in its final form, as part of the “Inscriptions” cluster, which was new to the 1871 edition of Leaves of Grass.
When I Read the Book, p. 172: First included in a shorter version in 1867; in its final form in 1871.
Beginning My Studies, p. 172: First included in Drum-Taps (1865); in its final form in 1871.
Beginners, p. 172: First included in 1860, the poem gained minor revisions in the 1867 and 1871 editions of Leaves of Grass.
To the States, p. 173: First included in 1860 as “Walt Whitman’s Caution,” “To the States” took its current title in 1881.
On Journeys Through the States, p. 173: Known as “Chants Democratic. 17” in 1860, the poem was left out of the 1867 edition but restored as ”On Journeys Through the States“ in 1871.
To a Certain Cantatrice, p. 173: “To a Cantatrice” in the 1860 edition, the poem gained its current title in 1867, and finally was included in the “Inscriptions” cluster in 1881.
Me Imperturbe, p. 174: First included as “Chants Democratic. 18” in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, the poem gained its final title and form in 1881.
Savantism, p. 174: First included, and in its final form, in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass.
The Ship Starting, p. 175: First appearing in Drum-Taps (1865), “The Ship Starting” was included in the “Inscriptions” cluster of 1881.
I Hear America Singing, p. 175: “Chants Democratic. 20” in 1860, ”I Hear America Singing“ gained its title in 1867.
What Place Is Besieged?, p. 176: First included as part of “Calamus. 31” in 1860, the poem gained its current title and form in 1867.
Still Though the One I Sing, p. 176: First included, and in its final form, in the “Songs of Insurrection” cluster of Leaves of Grass (1871).
Shut Not Your Doors, p. 176: First written for Drum-Taps in 1865, this poem was in its final form in 1871.
Poets to Come, p. 176: The original, longer version of this poem was known as “Chants Democratic. 14” in the 1860 edition. The poem gained its current title and form in 1867.
To You, p. 177: First included, and in its final form, as the last poem in the “Messenger Leaves” cluster of 1860.
Thou Reader, p. 177: The concluding poem of the “Inscriptions” section was included, and in its final form, in 1881.
Starting from Paumanok, p. 177: First included in 1860 as “Proto-Leaf,” this poem became “Starting from Paumonok” in 1871 and achieved its final form in 1881. The poem has always had an important placement in Leaves of Grass: It was first in 1860 (as its title suggests) and the first poem following the “Inscriptions” cluster beginning in 1871.
Song of Myself, p. 190: See notes to the 1855 version of “[Song of Myse
lf],” above. “Song of Myself ” appeared in its final form in 1881.
Children of Adam, p. 252: This cluster of poems first appeared in the 1860 edition as “Enfans d‘Adam.” All but one of the original fifteen poems (“In the New Garden, in all the Parts”) appeared in the collection in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass, and the title was then changed to “Children of Adam.” In 1871 Whitman added “Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd” and “I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ,” making up the sixteen poems that have since comprised the group.
To the Garden the World, p. 252: Known as “Enfans d‘Adam. 1” in 1860, this poem gained its current title in 1867 and remained unrevised through successive editions. It has also maintained its position as first poem in the ”Children of Adam“ grouping, probably because of its image of the poet ”ascending“ as Adam.
From Pent-up Aching Rivers, p. 252: “Enfans d‘Adam. 2” in 1860, this celebration of heterosexual passion gained its current title in 1867, and minor revisions through the 1871 edition.