Leaves of Grass

This untitled poem became “Poem of the Poet” in the second edition in 1856. Over the years, Whitman removed the last four lines and added two lines at the beginning to make the theme more clear: “Now list to my morning’s romanza, I tell the signs of the Answerer, / To the cities and farms I sing as they spread in the sunshine before me” (Lines 1-2). In the 1881 edition, he added a new section of 30 lines, which was originally a separate poem that appeared under various titles in the third to sixth editions. In 1881, the poem was re-titled “Song of the Answerer.”

It would be hard to exaggerate the power that Whitman ascribes to the poet, whom he calls the “answerer.” The poet embodies a healing force, which is why everyone craves his presence: “[T]he flow of beauty is not more welcome or universal than he is, / The person he favors by day or sleeps with at night is blessed” (Lines 27-28). His power is especially effective for the marginalized, whom he “strangely transmutes” (Line 49) so “[t]hey are not vile any more” (Line 50). Central to the poet’s influence is his exalted mode of being. His expansive consciousness touches everyone he encounters and spreads beneficence and happiness.

Through the figure of the poet, Whitman brings out the theme of individual and collective unity. The poet bridges over differences by universalizing and de-individuating language: “He resolves all tongues into his own, and bestows it upon men . . and any man translates himself also; / One part does not counteract another part . . . . He is the joiner . . he sees how they join” (Lines 30-31). The poet is a “joiner” who links people into one whole and shows them that they are coherent and cooperative “parts” rather than discrete beings that speak with many “tongues.”

In the Preface, Whitman also examines the poet, discussing the nature and role of this figure in detail. Whitman portrays the poet as an emotional and visionary ideal who perceives the world in both its expansiveness and detail: “The greatest poet hardly knows pettiness or triviality. If he breathes into anything that was before thought small it dilates with the grandeur and life of the universe. He is a seer [...] he is individual [...] he is complete in himself” (9). 

Although the poet stands out from the people around him due to his innate and otherworldly gifts, his main message is the Social, Political, and Spiritual Equality of all human beings: “The messages of great poets to each man and woman are, Come to us on equal terms, Only then can you understand us, We are no better than you, What we inclose you inclose, What we enjoy you may enjoy” (13). The poem also underscores this aspect of the poet’s mission, as he removes social stratification between the country’s president and a field laborer. 



For Whitman, the poet wrestles with the expectations of his audience and the internal inspiration that propels him. These are not always aligned. Most basically, the poet is an expert in language and an observer of the natural world, who shows through his work that “[t]he land and the sea, the animals fishes and birds, the sky of heaven and the orbs, the forests mountains and rivers, are not small themes” (10). However, his readers expect more from someone they perceive as an enlightened sage who sees further and deeper than the average person: “[F]olks expect of the poet to indicate more than the beauty and dignity which always attach to dumb real objects [...] they expect him to indicate the path between reality and their souls” (10). The poem’s ending implies that the poet is indeed capable of being this kind of “master” of the soul, who enables people to take possession of the best part of their true selves: Through his “melodious verses” (Line 51), the poet inspires others to seek the “flowing character you could have” (Line 53).