1. Why did Whitman switch from transcendentalism to realism? How did this influence his poetry?
  2. What connections can you make between O’ Captain My Captain and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d?
  3. What led Whitman to become a poet?
  4. Do you think Whitman being self-taught says anything about him and his work?
  5. Why did Whitman work on Leaves of Grass his whole life? What does this tell you about him?

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The Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature Copyright © 2016, 2017 by Timothy Robbins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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