Since Whitman is a quintessential 19th century writer, his works reflected his preoccupation with the Civil War. In the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, the imagery employed by the author conveyed his hopes for peace and reconciliation. “At one level, Whitman’s turn to seemingly personal concerns in ‘Calamus’ might seem odd at this moment, on the very eve of actual warfare, but for Whitman the ‘Calamus’ poems explored both important personal relationships and addressed political issues. It was love that was to serve as the glue holding a democracy together.” (Schramm, 2005, p.25) Indeed, based on Whitman’s personal correspondence, it is fairly obvious that he wished to be remembered as a staunch patriot and a nationalist, comparable to the status of Pushkin as the Russian national poet. For example,
“Whitman ruminated about the curious national arithmetic of e pluribus unum (“Out of many one”) in ways that gave concrete expression-and vivid imagery-to the abstractions at the very heart of our democracy. In Whitman’s best lines, he casts himself as the spokesperson for women as well as men, blacks as well as whites, the well-heeled and the downtrodden. Taken together, the kaleidoscopic parts of America add up to . . . well, America. Whitman’s conception of America was also pluralistic, one in which multitudes could smoothly be integrated into the “larger, often mystically imagined Union”.” (Pinsker, 1999, p.716)
His most influential master work Leaves of Grass is full of allusions, commentary and idealization of American identity. Concepts such as democracy as well as principles such as individual freedom also find frequent mention. In many ways, Leaves of Grass is to the fledgling notion of American identity what Homer and Virgil were to the ancient Greek milieu. In this sense, Leaves of Grass can be said to encapsulate the history, politics and culture of the nascent American nation-state in the form of poetry. Whitman looked around at Americans of all stations for inspiration. And what he found was a nation of nations that augured its years of glory to follow. By thus listening to the messages of daily life, American citizens could learn much about their country’s history, culture and the tendencies in the future. Further, as per Whitman’s conception, the country is in itself a great work of poetry where the past, present and the future conjoin in intricate ways. This notion of treating the country’s exclusive merits is consistent with the broader literary currents of the time, where authors tried to overcome the remaining European influences by way of forming a separate American idiom and literature. (Pannapacker, 2004, p.45)
Whitman’s contribution to the development of American identity is seen in overt as well as subtle portrayals in his poetry and poetics. For example, his strong dislike of the institution of slavery is learnt from these lines from his personal correspondence: “I am the poet of slaves and of the masters of slaves. . . I go with the slaves of the earth equally with the masters and I will stand between the masters and the slaves, entering into both so that both shall understand me alike.” (Pinsker, 1999, p.717) On the other hand, his love of the common American folk is expressed by capturing