“I celebrate myself, and sing myself.”Walt Whitman
Self LoveSong Of Myself
Walt Whitman Quotes
American - Poet & Essayist|May 31, 1819 - March 26, 1892
50 FAMOUS QUOTES · POET & ESSAYIST
Walt Whitman Quotes
Read 50 genuine Walt Whitman quotes from Leaves of Grass on the self, nature, freedom, democracy and the miracle of life from the great American poet.
“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”Walt Whitman
IndividualitySong Of Myself
“I exist as I am, that is enough.”Walt Whitman
Self AcceptanceBe Yourself
“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”Walt Whitman
Self ExpressionSong Of Myself
“Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul.”Walt Whitman
Independent ThinkingSoul
“Resist much, obey little.”Walt Whitman
“Henceforth I ask not good fortune. I myself am good fortune.”Walt Whitman
Self RelianceSong Of The Open Road
“Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.”Walt Whitman
AdventureFreedom
“Oh, while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to me will ever take command of me.”Walt Whitman
Self MasteryCourage
“Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.”Walt Whitman
CalmSoul
“Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.”Walt Whitman
TruthSoul
“We convince by our presence.”Walt Whitman
PresenceInfluence
“Nothing endures but personal qualities.”Walt Whitman
CharacterLegacy
“All faults may be forgiven of him who has perfect candour.”Walt Whitman
HonestyForgiveness
“I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best.”Walt Whitman
HumanityHumility
“I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.”Walt Whitman
NatureWonder
“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.”Walt Whitman
WonderGratitude
“Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.”Walt Whitman
WonderLife
“Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me is a miracle.”Walt Whitman
WonderBody
“If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.”Walt Whitman
BodySacred
“I accept Reality and dare not question it.”Walt Whitman
AcceptanceReality
“A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.”Walt Whitman
NatureSimplicity
“Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me?”Walt Whitman
TreesNature
“Now I see the secret of making the best persons: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.”Walt Whitman
NatureOutdoors
“After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on, and have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear, what remains? Nature remains.”Walt Whitman
NatureMeaning
Related Authors
About Walt Whitman
American - Poet & Essayist | May 31, 1819 - March 26, 1892
Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892), born Walter Whitman on Long Island, New York, was an American poet, essayist and journalist. He left school young and worked as a printer, teacher and newspaper editor in Brooklyn before devoting himself to poetry.
In 1855 Whitman self-published *Leaves of Grass*, a bold collection of free verse celebrating the individual, the body, nature and American democracy. Praised by Ralph Waldo Emerson but shocking to many readers, he revised and expanded it for the rest of his life. During the Civil War he volunteered in military hospitals, comforting thousands of wounded soldiers, and after Abraham Lincoln's assassination wrote the famous elegies "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Often called the father of free verse, he died in Camden, New Jersey, in 1892. Here are 50 genuine Walt Whitman quotes.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Walt Whitman and these famous quotes.
Who was Walt Whitman?
Walt Whitman was a 19th-century American poet, essayist and journalist, best known for *Leaves of Grass*. He is often called the father of free verse and one of America's most influential poets.
What is Leaves of Grass?
*Leaves of Grass* is Whitman's life's work, a collection of poems first self-published in 1855. He revised and expanded it many times until the final "deathbed edition" of 1891–92. Its most famous poem is "Song of Myself."
What is "O Captain! My Captain!" about?
"O Captain! My Captain!" (1865) is an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated at the end of the Civil War. It compares Lincoln to a ship's captain who dies just as his ship safely reaches port.
What did Walt Whitman do during the Civil War?
After travelling to find his wounded brother in 1862, Whitman stayed in Washington, D.C., and volunteered in military hospitals for years, visiting, comforting and writing letters for thousands of sick and wounded soldiers.
Did Walt Whitman say "Keep your face always toward the sunshine"?
No. Although widely credited to Whitman, this line does not appear in his poems, prose or letters. Its true origin is uncertain, and it is also sometimes wrongly credited to Helen Keller.
Did Walt Whitman say "Be curious, not judgmental"?
No. This line became famous through the TV series *Ted Lasso* (2020), where it is attributed to Whitman, but there is no record of him ever writing or saying it.