Leaves of Grass First and Death-Bed Editions (100 page)

 

City of Ships,
p. 444: First appearing in
Drum-Taps
(1865), the poem was part of the “Drum-Taps” annex in the 1867 edition of
Leaves of Grass,
and the “Drum-Taps” clusters of 1871 and 1881.

The Centenarian’s Story,
p. 445: The poem’s title and original form were preserved from 1865 through all subsequent editions.

 

Cavalry Crossing a Ford,
p. 449: The 1865 title remained unchanged in following editions.

 

Bivouac on a Mountain Side,
p. 450: The 1865 title remained unchanged, and the poem was subject to minor revisions through following editions.

 

An Army Corps on the March,
p. 450: Originally entitled “An Army on the March,” the poem was included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866). It received its present title in the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass.

 

By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame,
p. 451: The title and poem are unchanged from their first appearance in
Drum-Taps
(1865).

 

Come Up from the Fields Father,
p. 451: Title remained unchanged from its first appearance in 1865. The poem remains one of the most anthologized in the
Drum-Taps
series.

 

Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night,
p. 453: The title remained unchanged from its first appearance in 1865; the poem received minor revisions in following editions.

 

A March in the Ranks Hard-prest, and the Road Unknown,
p. 454: The poem’s title remained unchanged from its first version in 1865-

A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim,
p. 455: Entitled “A Sight in Camp in the Day-Break Grey and Dim” when it first appeared in 1865, the poem had numbered stanzas through the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass.

 

As Toilsome I Wander’d Virginia’s Woods,
p. 456: The title and poem itself remain unchanged since their first appearance in
Drum-Taps
(1865).

Not the Pilot,
p. 457: Originally part of the “Debris” cluster in the 1860 edition of
Leaves of Grass,
it was given its current title in 1867 and put into the “Drum-Taps” cluster in Leaves of Grass (1871).

 

Year That Trembled and Reel’d Beneath Me,
p. 457: The poem and title remain unchanged since their first appearance in
Drum-Taps
(1865).

 

The Wound-Dresser,
p. 457: Entitled “The Dresser” in 1865, the poem received its current title in the 1876 “Centennial” Edition of Leaves
of
Grass.

 

Long, Too Long America,
p. 460: Originally entitled “Long, Too Long, O Land” in 1865, the poem gained its current title in 1881.

 

Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun,
p. 461: The poem retains its 1865 title and form.

 

 

Dirge for Two Veterans,
p. 462: First appearing in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), the poem was subject to only minor revisions in punctuation through subsequent editions.

 

Over the Carnage Rose Prophetic a Voice,
p. 464: This poem (along with “For You O Democracy,” a Calamus poem from 1867 to 1881) has its roots in “Calamus. 5” from the 1860 edition of
Leaves of Grass.
It gained its current title when it was revised and included in
Drum-Taps
(1865).

 

I Saw Old General at Bay,
p. 465: The poem preserves its original 1865 title; Whitman made only minor revisions to punctuation through subsequent editions.

 

The Artilleryman’s Vision,
p. 465: Originally entitled “The Veteran’s Vision” in 1865, the poem gained its current title in 1871. For the most part, Whitman made only minor alterations to the poem’s punctuation through subsequent editions.

Ethiopia Saluting the Colors,
p. 466: Originally subtitled “A Reminiscence of 1864,” this poem was first published in the 1871 edition of Leaves
of
Grass. It was placed in the “Drum-Taps” cluster in 1881.

 

Not Youth Pertains to Me,
p. 467: The poem retains its 1865 title, though in 1871 the last two lines were revised from: “[Intervals] I have strung together a few songs, / Fit for war, and the life of the camp.

 

 

Race of Veterans,
p. 467: First included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), the poem has kept its original title and form, with minor revisions in punctuation.

 

World Take Good Notice,
p. 468: Originally “World, Take Good Notice,” this poem retains its 1865 title and content; only the number of line 3 was altered from “thirty-six,” reflecting the addition of two states to the union.

 

 

O Tan-faced Prairie-Boy,
p. 468: The poem retains its 1865 title and most of its original form, with minor revisions to punctuation.

 

Look Down Fair Moon,
p. 468: The poem carries its 1865 title. Only minor revisions in punctuation were made through subsequent editions.

 

 

Reconciliation,
p. 468: Originally included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), the poem retains its original title and most of its original wording.

 

How Solemn as One by One,
p. 469: Originally included in
Sequel
to
Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), the poem gained its subtitle in 1871.

 

As I Lay with My Head In Your Lap Camerado,
p. 469: First included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), the poem gained one major revision in 1871: two lines originally included after line 4 were omitted: “Indeed I am myself the real soldier; / It is not he, there, with his bayonet, and not the red-striped artillery- man”.

Delicate Cluster,
p. 470: The poem as titled first appeared in the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass
and was placed in the “Drum-Taps” cluster of
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

To a Certain Civilian,
p. 470: Entitled “Did You Ask Dulcet Rhymes from Me?” in 1865, the poem gained its current title (and four additional lines to its original six) in
Passage to India
(1871). In 1881 it was included in the “Drum-Taps” cluster of
Leaves of Grass.

 

Lo, Victress on the Peaks,
p. 471: Originally included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866) as “Lo! Victress on the Peaks!”, the poem gained its present, calmer title in 1876.

 

Spirit Whose Work Is Done,
p. 471: Originally included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), the poem gained its subtitle in 1871.

 

Adieu to a Soldier,
p. 472: First published in 1871, the poem was included in the “Drum-Taps” cluster of
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

Turn O Libertad,
p. 473: Originally included under its present title in
Drum-Taps
(1865), the poem was subject to minor revisions through subsequent editions.

 

To the Leaven’d Soil They Trod,
p. 473: The final poem in the “Drum-Taps” cluster since its first appearance in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866).

 

Memories of President Lincoln,
p. 475: While the previous cluster, “Drum-Taps,” focuses on the theme of the Civil War, the four poems comprising the cluster “Memories of President Lincoln” all make explicit mention of Whitman’s hero, Abraham Lincoln. These poems here were first grouped as “President Lincoln’s Burial Hymn” in
Passage to India
(1871) and became known as “Memories of President Lincoln” in 1881.

 

 

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom‘d,
p. 475: This great elegy to Lincoln was first included in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866). Minor changes in punctuation and word choice were made in subsequent editions, with the exception of one particular revision near the end of the poem (see endnote 70 to the “Death-bed” Edition). Some minor revisions were made to the poem for the 1871 and 1881 publications.

 

O Captain! My Captain!,
p. 484: Published in the New York
Saturday Press
on November 4, 1865, the poem appeared in
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866) and
Passage to India
(1871) and the annex of the same title in 1876.

 

Hush’d Be the Camps To-Day,
p. 485: When the poem was first published in
Drum-Taps
(1865), the subtitle read: “A. L. Buried April 19, 1865.” He corrected the erroneous date in the 1871 edition of
Passage to India.

 

This Dust Was Once the Man,
p. 485: First published in
Passage to India
(1871), this poem was not revised in its 1871, 1876, and 1881 publications.

 

By Blue Ontario’s Shore,
p. 485: In
Leaves of Grass
(1856) this poem was “8—Poem of Many in One.” For the 1860 edition Whitman changed the title to “Chants Democratic. 1”; it appeared in the 1867 annex “Songs before Parting” as “As I Sat Alone by Blue Ontario’s Shore” and gained its present title in 1881. Stanza numbers were added in 1860, section numbers in 1867. The form of the poem was much revised through these editions, and a good portion of its original 280 lines was taken from (or inspired by) the 1855 “[Preface].”

 

Reversals, p. 501: These six lines have their origin in a fifty-seven-line poem entitled “Poem of the Proposition of Nakedness” first published in 1856. In 1860 the poem became “Chants Democratic. 5”; in 1867, 1871, and 1876 it was retitled “Respondez.” The poem took its final form and title in 1881.

 

Autumn Rivulets,
p. 502: This cluster was new to the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass,
though most of the poems were previously published in earlier editions or periodicals.

As Consequent, Etc.,
p. 502: This introductory poem is one of the few in “Autumn Rivulets” that is new to the 1881 edition of
Leaves
of Grass (though some lines were taken from the 1876 poems “Two Rivulets” and “Or from That Sea of Time”).

 

The Return of the Heroes,
p. 503: First published in
The Galaxy
in September 1867 as “A Carol of Harvest for 1867,” the poem found its way into
Passage to India
(1871) and
Two Rivulets
(1876). Stanza and section numbers were added in 1871, and the present title was first used in 1881.

 

 

There Was a Child Went Forth,
p. 509: See note to “There Was a Child Went Forth,” p. 138.

 

Old Ireland,
p. 511: The poem was first published in the
New York Leader
of November 2, 1861; in its final forum, it was placed in
Drum-Taps
in 1865.

 

The City Dead-House,
p. 511: Published under this title in the 1867 edition of
Leaves of Grass,
the poem was subject to very minor revisions through 1881.

 

This Compost,
p. 512: In 1856 this poem was known as “9—Poem of Wonder at The Resurrection of The Wheat.” The title was changed to “Leaves of Grass—4” in 1860, ”This Compost!“ in 1867, and its present title in 1871. Minor revisions (mostly changes in punctuation) were made to it until its 1881 publication.

 

 

To a Foil’d European Revolutionaire,
p. 514: First published in Leaves of Grass (1856) as “Liberty Poem for Asia, Africa, Europe, America, Australia, Cuba, and the Archipelagoes of the Sea,” the poem became “To a Foiled Revolter or Revoltress” in 1860 and 1867, and received its current title in 1871. Stanza numbers were added in 1860, section numbers in 1871. The poem was subject to revision, and several lines were removed between 1856 and 1860.

Unnamed Lands,
p. 516: The poem was published in the 1860 edition under its present title and was subject to minor revisions after 1871. It achieved its final form in 1881.

 

Song of Prudence,
p. 517: Entitled “Poem of the Last Explanation of Prudence” in 1856, the poem became “Leaves of Grass. 5” in 1860 and ”Manhattan’s Streets I Saunter’d Pondering“ in 1865. It gained its present title in 1881. Many of its lines were taken from Whitman’s 1855 ”[Preface].“

 

The Singer in the Prison,
p. 520: First published in the Saturday
Evening Visitor
on December 25, 1869, the poem was included in the 1871 edition of
Passage to India
and gained its final revisions for the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass.

 

Warble for Lilac-Time,
p. 522: First published in
The Galaxy
in May 1870, the poem appeared in
Passage to India
(1871) as “Warble for Lilac Time” and lost several lines before achieving its final form in 1881.

 

 

Outlines for a Tomb,
p. 523: First published in
The Galaxy
in January 1870 under the title “Brother of All, with Generous Hand,” this poem was written for millionaire philanthropist George Peabody (1795-1869). Whitman included it in
Passage to India
(1871); he gave it the title “Outlines for a Tomb” and shortened it by several lines for the 1881 edition.

 

 

Out from Behind This Mask,
p. 525: After first appearing in the New
York Tribune
in 1876, the poem was published in the “Centennial” Edition of
Leaves of Grass
(1876) as well as
Two Rivulets,
a companion volume to
Leaves of Grass
also published that year. Included in
Leaves of Grass
(1876) was a portrait engraving of Whitman by W. J. Linton (based on an 1871 photo of the poet taken by G. C. Potter). This portrait was not included in the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass.