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"I have not gain'd acceptance of my own time,
but have fallen back on fond dreams of the future"
(by Walt Whitman, qtd. in Miller, Sex and Sexuality)

SEX AND SEXUALITY IN THE POETRY OF WALT WHITMAN


Perhaps, in the following essay I put a quart into a pint pot, because I intend to puzzle out, or rather, find and give a deeper insight into Walt Whitman's sexuality that is still a question on agenda. There are readers and critics who state that it is a shame to humble his poetry to this level, but I think that he was homosexual in his era the topic cannot be left untouched, because therefore this factor was very influential on his everyday life, thinking and hence on his poetry, too.
His only volume, Leaves of Grass – that was published several times – was first published at in 1855 Whitman's expense.
As it can be easily foretold, there was and there continues a huge debate about Whitman's homosexuality, or to say, his sexual identity. There are readers who resist......

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Approximate Word Count: 3792
Approximate Pages: 16 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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