Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

100 Memorable Quotes By Walt Whitman, The Author Of Leaves Of Grass

Famous As: One of the Most Influential Poets in the American Canon, Regarded as the 'Father of Free Verse'
Born On: May 31, 1819
Died On: March 26, 1892
Born In: West Hills, New York, United States
Died At Age: 72
Popularly known as the Father of Free Verse, Walt Whitman was an American poet who revolutionized American poetry. He was called the ‘Bard of Democracy’ and is till date considered America’s most influential poet. He invented a poetic form and introduced a wide range of varied topics to American poetry, something that not many dared to then. His verse collection, ‘Leaves of Grass’ is a landmark in the history of American literature. It caused a stir upon its release as it expounded on frank sexual themes. Essentially a poet, Whitman also contributed as an essayist, journalist and teacher. During the American Civil War, he volunteered as a nurse. Whitman’s works are classics of today. He wrote at a time when the country was reeling under Civil War. As such, most of his works are realistic in nature and incorporate political views. One can also see traces of transcendentalism in Whitman’s works. Prose like in nature, Whitman’s poetries have unusual images and symbols. They also deal with the themes of death and sexuality, including prostitution. One can also witness the same in his quotes that touch varied topics. Read through this section and explore quotes by Walt Whitman.
Resist much, obey little.

Resist much, obey little.

Walt Whitman
What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life.

What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life.

Walt Whitman
Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself; I am large -- I contain multitudes.

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself; I am large -- I contain multitudes.

Walt Whitman
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.

Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.

Walt Whitman
We were together. I forget the rest.

We were together. I forget the rest.

Walt Whitman
Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.

Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.

Walt Whitman
Be curious, not judgmental.

Be curious, not judgmental.

Walt Whitman
I am large, I contain multitudes

I am large, I contain multitudes

Walt Whitman
I have learned that to be with those I like is enough

I have learned that to be with those I like is enough

Walt Whitman
I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world.

I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world.

Walt Whitman
Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.

Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.

Walt Whitman
Do anything, but let it produce joy.

Do anything, but let it produce joy.

Walt Whitman
I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best.

I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best.

Walt Whitman
Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged. Missing me one place, search another. I stop somewhere waiting for you.

Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged. Missing me one place, search another. I stop somewhere waiting for you.

Walt Whitman
And your very flesh shall be a great poem.

And your very flesh shall be a great poem.

Walt Whitman
Peace is always beautiful.

Peace is always beautiful.

Walt Whitman
I discover myself on the verge of a usual mistake.

I discover myself on the verge of a usual mistake.

Walt Whitman
Pointing to another world will never stop vice among us; shedding light over this world can alone help us.

Pointing to another world will never stop vice among us; shedding light over this world can alone help us.

Walt Whitman
I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.

I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.

Walt Whitman
These are the days that must happen to you.

These are the days that must happen to you.

Walt Whitman
God is a mean-spirited, pugnacious bully bent on revenge against His children for failing to live up to his impossible standards.

God is a mean-spirited, pugnacious bully bent on revenge against His children for failing to live up to his impossible standards.

Walt Whitman
The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.

The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.

Walt Whitman
Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you/ That you may be my poem/ I whisper with my lips close to your ear/ I have loved many women and men, but I love none better than you.

Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you/ That you may be my poem/ I whisper with my lips close to your ear/ I have loved many women and men, but I love none better than you.

Walt Whitman
Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.

Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.

Walt Whitman
If you done it, it ain't bragging.

If you done it, it ain't bragging.

Walt Whitman
If you want me again look for me under your boot soles.

If you want me again look for me under your boot soles.

Walt Whitman
Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.

Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.

Walt Whitman
Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.

Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.

Walt Whitman
And as to me, I know nothing else but miracles

And as to me, I know nothing else but miracles

Walt Whitman
Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch.

Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch.

Walt Whitman
I am satisfied ... I see, dance, laugh, sing.

I am satisfied ... I see, dance, laugh, sing.

Walt Whitman
In the faces of men and women, I see God.

In the faces of men and women, I see God.

Walt Whitman
Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.

Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.

Walt Whitman
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.

Walt Whitman
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, 
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

Walt Whitman
I exist as I am, that is enough.

I exist as I am, that is enough.

Walt Whitman
I celebrate myself, and sing myself, 
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

Walt Whitman
The real war will never get in the books.

The real war will never get in the books.

Walt Whitman
Give me the splendid, silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling.

Give me the splendid, silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling.

Walt Whitman
Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.

Walt Whitman
I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you when I sit alone or 
wake at night alone, 
I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again, 
I am to see to it that I do not lose you.

I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you when I sit alone or wake at night alone, I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again, I am to see to it that I do not lose you.

Walt Whitman
Long enough have you dream'd contemptible dreams, 
Now I wash the gum from your eyes, 
You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light
and of every moment of your life

Long enough have you dream'd contemptible dreams, Now I wash the gum from your eyes, You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life

Walt Whitman
Argue not concerning God,…re-examine all that you have been told at church or school or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your soul…

Argue not concerning God,…re-examine all that you have been told at church or school or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your soul…

Walt Whitman
All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, 
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.

Walt Whitman
I tramp a perpetual journey.

I tramp a perpetual journey.

Walt Whitman
I cannot be awake, for nothing looks to me as it did before, or else I am awake for the first time, and all before has been a mean sleep.

I cannot be awake, for nothing looks to me as it did before, or else I am awake for the first time, and all before has been a mean sleep.

Walt Whitman
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.

A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.

Walt Whitman
The future is no more uncertain than the present.

The future is no more uncertain than the present.

Walt Whitman
There is no God any more divine than Yourself.

There is no God any more divine than Yourself.

Walt Whitman
From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines.

From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines.

Walt Whitman
Your very flesh shall be a great poem...

Your very flesh shall be a great poem...

Walt Whitman
Love the earth and sun and animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labor to others...
And your very flesh shall be a great poem.

Love the earth and sun and animals, Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, Stand up for the stupid and crazy, Devote your income and labor to others... And your very flesh shall be a great poem.

Walt Whitman
Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me?
And why should I not speak to you?

Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me? And why should I not speak to you?

Walt Whitman
I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least.

I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least.

Walt Whitman
I act as the tongue of you,
... tied in your mouth . . . . in mine it begins to be loosened.

I act as the tongue of you, ... tied in your mouth . . . . in mine it begins to be loosened.

Walt Whitman
A writer can do nothing for men more necessary, satisfying, than just simply to reveal to them the infinite possibility of their own souls.

A writer can do nothing for men more necessary, satisfying, than just simply to reveal to them the infinite possibility of their own souls.

Walt Whitman
I Think it is lost.....but nothing is ever lost nor can be lost .
The body sluggish, aged, cold, the ember left from earlier fires 
shall duly flame again.

I Think it is lost.....but nothing is ever lost nor can be lost . The body sluggish, aged, cold, the ember left from earlier fires shall duly flame again.

Walt Whitman
My words itch at your ears till you understand them

My words itch at your ears till you understand them

Walt Whitman
Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find."

Walt Whitman
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean

You will hardly know who I am or what I mean

Walt Whitman
To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.

To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.

Walt Whitman
Touch me, touch the palm of your hand to my body as I pass,
Be not afraid of my body.

Touch me, touch the palm of your hand to my body as I pass, Be not afraid of my body.

Walt Whitman
I will sleep no more but arise, You oceans that have been calm within me! how I feel you, fathomless, stirring, preparing unprecedented waves and storms.

I will sleep no more but arise, You oceans that have been calm within me! how I feel you, fathomless, stirring, preparing unprecedented waves and storms.

Walt Whitman
I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself.

I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware I sit content, And if each and all be aware I sit content. One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself.

Walt Whitman
This hour I tell things in confidence/ I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.

This hour I tell things in confidence/ I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.

Walt Whitman
Let your soul stand cool and composed
 before a million universes.

Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.

Walt Whitman
It makes such difference where you read

It makes such difference where you read

Walt Whitman
I accept Time absolutely. 
It alone is without flaw, 
It alone rounds and completes all, 
That mystic baffling wonder.

I accept Time absolutely. It alone is without flaw, It alone rounds and completes all, That mystic baffling wonder.

Walt Whitman
I will You, in all, Myself, with promise to never desert you,	 
To which I sign my name.

I will You, in all, Myself, with promise to never desert you, To which I sign my name.

Walt Whitman
I and this mystery, here we stand.

I and this mystery, here we stand.

Walt Whitman
There was never any more inception than there is now,
Nor any more youth or age than there is now;
And will never be any more perfection than there is now,
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

There was never any more inception than there is now, Nor any more youth or age than there is now; And will never be any more perfection than there is now, Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

Walt Whitman
I swear to you, there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell

I swear to you, there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell

Walt Whitman
If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.

If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.

Walt Whitman
Nothing can happen more beautiful than death.

Nothing can happen more beautiful than death.

Walt Whitman
But where is what I started for so long ago?
And why is it yet unfound?

But where is what I started for so long ago? And why is it yet unfound?

Walt Whitman
Loafe with me on the grass—loose the stop from your throat; 
Not words, not music or rhyme I want—not custom or lecture, not even the best; 
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice.

Loafe with me on the grass—loose the stop from your throat; Not words, not music or rhyme I want—not custom or lecture, not even the best; Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice.

Walt Whitman
The question, O me! so sad, recurring -
What good amid these, O me, O life?
That you are here - that life
exists and identity,
that the powerful play goes on, 
and you may contribute a verse.

The question, O me! so sad, recurring - What good amid these, O me, O life? That you are here - that life exists and identity, that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

Walt Whitman
The road to wisdom is paved with excess. 

The mark of a true writer is their ability to mystify the familiar and familiarize the strange.

The road to wisdom is paved with excess. The mark of a true writer is their ability to mystify the familiar and familiarize the strange.

Walt Whitman
Storming, enjoying, planning, loving, cautioning,
Backing and filling, appearing and disappearing,
I tread day and night such roads.

Storming, enjoying, planning, loving, cautioning, Backing and filling, appearing and disappearing, I tread day and night such roads.

Walt Whitman
The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.

The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.

Walt Whitman
After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.

After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.

Walt Whitman
Clear and sweet is my soul, clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.

Clear and sweet is my soul, clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.

Walt Whitman
Long have you timidly waded 
Holding a plank by the shore, 
Now I will you to be a bold swimmer, 
To jump off in the midst of the sea, 
Rise again, nod to me, shout, 
And laughingly dash with your hair.

Long have you timidly waded Holding a plank by the shore, Now I will you to be a bold swimmer, To jump off in the midst of the sea, Rise again, nod to me, shout, And laughingly dash with your hair.

Walt Whitman
The untold want, by life and land ne'er granted,
Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

The untold want, by life and land ne'er granted, Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

Walt Whitman
I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again / I am to see to it that I do not lose you

I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again / I am to see to it that I do not lose you

Walt Whitman
I have said that the soul is not more than the body,
And I have said that the body is not more than the soul,
And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one's-self is,

I have said that the soul is not more than the body, And I have said that the body is not more than the soul, And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one's-self is,

Walt Whitman
Oh captain my captain

Oh captain my captain

Walt Whitman
The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.

The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.

Walt Whitman
To have great poets, 
there must be great audiences.

To have great poets, there must be great audiences.

Walt Whitman
Agonies are one of my changes of garments.

Agonies are one of my changes of garments.

Walt Whitman
Give me juicy autumnal fruit, ripe and red from the orchard.

Give me juicy autumnal fruit, ripe and red from the orchard." [Give me the splendid silent sun]

Walt Whitman
The strongest and sweetest songs yet remain to be sung.

The strongest and sweetest songs yet remain to be sung.

Walt Whitman
Unscrew the locks from the doors ! 
Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs !

Unscrew the locks from the doors ! Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs !

Walt Whitman
Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me?

Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me?

Walt Whitman
Be not dishearten'd -- Affection shall solve the problems of Freedom yet;
Those who love each other shall become invincible.

Be not dishearten'd -- Affection shall solve the problems of Freedom yet; Those who love each other shall become invincible.

Walt Whitman
A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more
than he.

A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.

Walt Whitman
Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, when I give I give myself.

Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, when I give I give myself.

Walt Whitman
Oh, to be alive in such an age, when miracles are everywhere, and every inch of common air throbs a tremendous prophecy, of greater marvels yet to be.

Oh, to be alive in such an age, when miracles are everywhere, and every inch of common air throbs a tremendous prophecy, of greater marvels yet to be.

Walt Whitman
What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the words I have read in my life.

What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the words I have read in my life.

Walt Whitman
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.

Walt Whitman