# Walt Whitman — Leaves of Grass character guide > Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Whitman **First appearance:** 0001-leaves-of-grass ## Snapshot The poet who walks into his own poem in working dress, claiming to be Southerner and Northerner, mechanic and President, and everyone in between. ## Who they are Whitman names himself inside the verses, lounging through shops and fields, insisting that immigrants, buffalo, locomotives, and telegraph wires all belong in the same song. His distinctive tension is between a colossal, almost imperial self and a genuinely democratic one: he is 'maternal as well as paternal,' stuffed with coarse and fine stuff at once. He matters because he turns the book into a place where the reader is directly greeted, bared-headed, and asked to travel on. ## Relationships ### [Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/characters/narrator) _psychological_ The narrator often merges with or directly addresses Walt Whitman as a self-reflexive alter ego or persona. ## In the story ### [Epigraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/epigraph) The poet who sets his name to the verses for Soul and Body. ### [Leaves of Grass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/leaves-of-grass) The poet himself, embodying the prophetic and unifying role. ### [Inscriptions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/inscriptions) Whitman speaks directly as the poet-prophet, declaring his mission. ### [As I Ponder’d in Silence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/as-i-ponder-d-in-silence) Implied as the author of the poems being considered. ### [In Cabin'd Ships at Sea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/in-cabin-d-ships-at-sea) Implied as the poet who folds his love into every leaf and sends his song to mariners. ### [Eidólons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/eid-lons) Implied as the poet receiving the seer's message and composing the song of eidólons. ### [Song of Myself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/song-of-myself) The poet behind the narrator, embodying the democratic and prophetic spirit of the work. ### [Song of Myself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/1) The poet identifies himself as thirty-seven years old, born of American parents, and begins his song in perfect health. ### [Song of Myself, Section 3](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/3) The poet speaks in first person, embodying the celebration of self and body. ### [Section 5](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/5) Implied as the speaker experiencing the soul's touch and the revelation of universal brotherhood. ### [The Twenty-Ninth Bather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/11) Whitman's voice is present in the sensual, celebratory tone of the bathing scene. ### [Chapter 20: The Self's Unshakable Foundation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/20) Implied as the speaker who wears his hat as he pleases and extracts strength from beef. ### [Walt Whitman, a Kosmos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/24) The poet speaks in first person, asserting his identity as a democratic, fleshly, and spiritual being. ### [Chapter 25](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/25) Addressed directly by speech, told he contains enough and should let it out; the narrator's identity is intertwined with Whitman. ### [The Touch of Identity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/28) Implied as the experiencing self, grappling with the licentious and identity-shifting touch. ### [The Animal Self](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/32) Implied as the poet who identifies with the animals and the stallion. ### [Chapter 44](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/44) The poet speaks as 'I', embodying the acme of things accomplished and the encloser of things to be. ### [The Teacher of Athletes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/47) Implied as the poet behind the narrator, emphasizing direct communion with the reader. ### [Chapter 48](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/48) Implied as the voice behind the declarations about God, death, and the self. ### [From Pent-Up Aching Rivers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/from-pent-up-aching-rivers) Implied as the poet behind the voice, celebrating the body and sexuality as central to his poetic vision. ### [The Female Form](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/5) Whitman's voice is present in the celebration of the female form and the unity of soul and body. ### [The Body Electric](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/9) Whitman's poetic voice merges with the narrator, asserting that the body's parts are the poems of the soul. ### [Spontaneous Me](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/spontaneous-me) The poet's voice is present throughout, declaring his own spontaneous, masculine poems and his oath of procreation. ### [One Hour to Madness and Joy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/one-hour-to-madness-and-joy) Implied as the voice behind the poem, embodying the determined man who plants the first kiss and seeks absolute freedom. ### [We Two, How Long We Were Fool’d](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/we-two-how-long-we-were-fool-d) Implied as the poet behind the voice, expressing themes of unity with nature and the self. ### [Native Moments](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/native-moments) Implied as the poet persona who vows to be the poet of the shunned. ### [Once I Pass’d Through a Populous City](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/once-i-pass-d-through-a-populous-city) Implied as the autobiographical voice behind the narrator's experience. ### [I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/i-heard-you-solemn-sweet-pipes-of-the-organ) Implied as the poet behind the sensory catalog, merging public and private music. ### [Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/whoever-you-are-holding-me-now-in-hand) Implied as the author of the 'leaves' and the 'new husband' and 'comrade' who offers an intimate but perilous bond. ### [Here the Frailest Leaves of Me](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/here-the-frailest-leaves-of-me) The poet acknowledges that these frail lines expose his true self more than other poems. ### [Earth, My Likeness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/earth-my-likeness) The poet's voice is present, struggling to articulate a raw, intense emotion that transcends even his own songs. ### [Full of Life Now](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/full-of-life-now) Implied as the poet who writes from the present to a distant future reader. ### [O Take My Hand Walt Whitman!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/1) The poet being called upon to witness the unfolding scenes of life and nature. ### [What Do You Hear Walt Whitman?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/3) The listener who hears the diverse sounds of the world. ### [The Vision of the World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/4) The poet is directly addressed and responds with a panoramic vision of the Earth. ### [Chapter 9: The Eternal Flow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/9) Implied as the voice behind the narrator, calling out to be recognized by young men and engaging with the eternal flow of life. ### [Song of the Answerer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/song-of-the-answerer) The poet-prophet who embodies the answerer. ### [Song of the Answerer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/1) Implied as the poet who resolves all tongues and stands as the Answerer, joining all people. ### [A Song of Joys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/a-song-of-joys) The poet's voice is unmistakable, celebrating his own identity, body, and soul in a democratic, expansive tone. ### [Song of the Exposition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/song-of-the-exposition) Whitman's voice is central, calling for a shift from old-world art to new-world industry and democracy. ### [The Unity of the Material and the Spiritual](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/5) The poet's voice is present, celebrating the dignity and spiritual significance of common labor and industry. ### [To You](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/to-you) Implied as the speaker who has loved many but loves the addressee best, and who chants the hymns of the individual. ### [Myself and Mine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/myself-and-mine) The poet persona speaks directly, claiming to chisel free Gods for the States and to start specimens by exhaustless laws like Nature. ### [Year of Meteors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/year-of-meteors) The poet speaks in first person, binding the year's deeds in song and identifying himself as a meteor. ### [As I Wended to the Shores I Know Not](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/2) Implied as the poet whose arrogant poems are mocked by the real Me. ### [Aboard at a Ship’s Helm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/aboard-at-a-ship-s-helm) Implied as the poet behind the allegory of the ship as body and soul. ### [The Wounded Healer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/2) Implied as the poet-soldier who lived through the war and now tends to the injured. ### [The Hospital Vigil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/4) Implied as the speaker who personally tended to wounded soldiers, reflecting Whitman's own Civil War hospital work. ### [To a Certain Civilian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/to-a-certain-civilian) Implied as the poet whose works are born of the same spirit as war, not meant for easy consumption. ### [Spirit Whose Work Is Done](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/spirit-whose-work-is-done) Implied as the poet who channels the war's spirit into his chants. ### [The Mission of Poets](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/11) Implied as the poet addressing his brethren and describing the battle. ### [Autumn Rivulets](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/autumn-rivulets) The poet's presence is felt as the observer and celebrant. ### [Warble for Lilac-Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/warble-for-lilac-time) Implied as the poet persona who warbles for joy and gathers nature's signs. ### [Out from Behind This Mask](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/out-from-behind-this-mask) Implied as the poet behind the mask, addressing the reader directly. ### [Vocalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/vocalism) Implied as the poet who has undergone the trials necessary to speak with divine power. ### [To a Common Prostitute](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/to-a-common-prostitute) Speaker who declares himself 'liberal and lusty as Nature' and offers unconditional acceptance. ### [Sparkles from the Wheel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/sparkles-from-the-wheel) Implied as the poet-self, effusing and fluid, a phantom floating. ### [Unfolded Out of the Folds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/unfolded-out-of-the-folds) Implied as the poet whose works come from the 'inimitable poems of woman.' ### [A Festival Song of the Soul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/2) Implied as the poet who hears and sees the composite orchestra and the fusion of all ages. ### [Passage to India](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/passage-to-india) Implied as the poet-prophet singing of exploration, unity, and spiritual transcendence. ### [Song of the Exposition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/1) Implied as the poet voicing the celebration of present achievements and the debt to history. ### [Year of the Purpose Accomplish'd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/6) Whitman sings the year of purpose accomplished and the marriage of continents, embodying the poet-prophet who unifies past and future. ### [Passage to Primal Thought](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/7) The poet's voice merges with the soul, embarking on a circumnavigation of the world and mind. ### [Passage to More than India](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/9) Whitman's voice is present in the exhortation to sail forth and explore the deep waters of existence. ### [The Sleepers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/the-sleepers) The poet himself, who becomes one with the sleepers and the night. ### [Chanting the Square Deific](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/1) Whitman channels the voice of the deific square, merging ancient and modern divine identities. ### [Quicksand Years](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/quicksand-years) Implied as the voice asserting the primacy of the self and the soul. ### [A Noiseless Patient Spider](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/a-noiseless-patient-spider) Implied as the speaker whose soul is likened to the spider's patient, exploratory casting. ### [Thou Orb Aloft Full-Dazzling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/thou-orb-aloft-full-dazzling) Implied as the poet behind the invocation, addressing the sun as a lover and seeking its blessing. ### [The Trumpet of Joy and Prophecy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/8) The poet behind the voice, expressing a vision of universal joy and rebirth. ### [Spirit That Form’d This Scene](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/spirit-that-form-d-this-scene) Implied as the poet whose chants are charged with forgetting art. ### [The Untold Want](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/the-untold-want) Implied as the poet behind the exhortation to the voyager. ### [So Long!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/so-long) Whitman speaks directly to the reader, asserting that his book is a living extension of himself. ### [Sands at Seventy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/sands-at-seventy) The poet himself, speaking from the perspective of his seventieth year. ### [Then Last of All](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/then-last-of-all) The poet identifies with the tides, asserting that his brain and voice are formed by their law. ### [Election Day, November, 1884](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/election-day-november-1884) The poet behind the narrator, expressing his vision of America's electoral process. ### [With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/with-husky-haughty-lips-o-sea) Implied as the poet persona listening to the sea's tale. ### [Thanks in Old Age](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/thanks-in-old-age) Reflects as an aging poet, giving thanks for health, war and peace, and the bonds of soul. ### [The Voice of the Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/the-voice-of-the-rain) Implied as the poet translating the rain's voice and drawing the analogy to song. ### [Now Precedent Songs, Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/now-precedent-songs-farewell) Implied as the author of the listed poems, bidding farewell to his precedent songs. ### [Preface Note to 2nd Annex](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/preface-note-to-2nd-annex) Whitman speaks in first person, describing his 72nd year, forced confinement, and the physical toll of his Civil War service. ### [Sounds of the Winter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/sounds-of-the-winter) Implied as the old man with 'snowy hairs' who refuses to cease his song. ### [When the Full-Grown Poet Came](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/when-the-full-grown-poet-came) Implied as the full-grown poet who reconciles Nature and the Soul. ### [Grand Is the Seen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/grand-is-the-seen) The poet persona celebrates the soul's primacy over the physical universe. ### [A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/a-backward-glance-o-er-travel-d-roads) The author, speaking in first person about his intentions, struggles, and the experimental nature of his work. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/endnotes) Reflects on his own illness and final songs in his seventieth year, and writes a tribute to General Sheridan. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/characters/walt_whitman - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/characters