![]() ![]() ![]() The book was called obscene and tasteless, and Whitman was chastised for verse that seemed to describe a multitude of sexual proclivities - many condemned by society at the time. Other reviewers, however, were not as kind to the book and focused on its sexual themes. He wrote the initial edition of the book in the early 1850's and published it in 1855 to several glowing reviews from literary titans such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. Whitman first began writing Leaves of Grass after failed attempts at newspaper publishing and teaching. ![]() His "songs" are songs of democracy and freedom, of an unwavering belief in patriotism, and of the promise of American freedom. Whitman first began writing Leaves just seventy-five years after the American Revolution and only several decades after the formative political administrations that first shaped the country. ![]() On another level, it is a song of and for America. He writes of the spiritual nature of his path and his experiences of war, peace, love, and death. First, it is Whitman's own chronicle of his journey through eighteenth century America. As one scholar has noted, Leaves of Grass has undergone more than a century of "abuse and worship." Its greatness has been the topic of much debate for over 150 years. Yet other critics have found the work obscene. Leaves of Grass has been considered by many critics to be the first and best example of American poetry, and Whitman to have been the first major American poet. ![]()
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