Key Facts

• Writer: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
• Original Title: Leaves of Grass (In which Song of Myself is included)
• Source: Leaves of Grass (First published in 1855)
• Written Time: 1840-1855
• Published Date: 1855
• Form: Free verse
• Genre: Poetry, Transcendentalism
• Tone: Celebratory, Reflective, Philosophical
• Point of View: First-person, with a universal perspective
• Total Lines: 1300
• Total Sections: 52
• Setting: 

• Time Setting: Spans the past, present, and future
• Place Setting: America, primarily reflecting Whitman’s observations of nature and society