Walt Whitman has been acclaimed by many as one of America's greatest contributors to poetry. Chief among his works is his book entitled Leaves of Grass, which quickly gained a substantial following after its publication due to subsequent revisions and updated editions. Whitman's works accurately personify American. His distinct democratic ideals shine through in a way that captured readers across the continent. Leaves of Grass achieved such great success in part because of the sensual light in which Whitman portrays the events which he has observed. The theme of sexuality dominates several of the works found in Leaves of Grass. Some have even been noted as containing direct references to and avocation of homosexual relationships, specifically between two men. Five of these in particular reveal very close sexual themes when examined closely (Walt Whitman 1819-1892).
             Whitman was the second child in a family of nine children. At age eleven he left his school in Long Island in search of work. Shortly thereafter, he became a law office clerk, and though previously inexperienced, he began writing sentimental poetry in numerous periodicals. He soon progressed further into his field by obtaining the position of editor for both the New York Aurora and the Brooklyn Eagle. During this period, Whitman made his first and last attempt at writing a novel. He titled it Franklin Evans; or, the Inebriate. Its primary purpose was to speak out against the problems of alcoholism which he later dismissed as "damned rot (Walt Whitman 1819-1892))."
             The turning point of Whitman's career as a writer seems to have occurred during a lecture called "The Poet" given in 1842 by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here Emerson laid out a challenge for an American poet to step forward and characterize the nation through his works. It may also be that Whitman experienced a great deal of liberation in coming to terms with his own...