The
Archive in the
Classroom
Unit Eight: Whitman and his Reviewers
Student Notebook
Reflect on the cultural understanding of
masculinity apparent in the reviews of Whitman and
compare these to Whitman's own many-sided understanding of
masculinity.
Student Debate
Read the following reviews to prepare for
an in-class debate in which you might be
called upon either to defend or to attack
Whitman's 1860 edition of Leaves of
Grass. (Locate passages from
Whitman's poetry that will support positions taken in
these reviews.)
1) Compare the response of English and
American reviewers to the 1860 edition of
Leaves of Grass.
2) Compare the 1860s
reviews written by women to those written by men.
Research Paper Assignment
Characterize the overall response to Whitman's
first edition (1855) of Leaves of Grass
as compared with subsequent editions.
