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the most definitely

About This Item

  • Title: the most definitely
  • Date: 1855
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: duk.00945
  • Source: Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the manuscripts, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This fragmentary manuscript was almost certainly written in 1855, probably around or just after the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass. It appears to be part of a draft of a review essay by Whitman titled "An English and an American Poet." Whitman published the essay anonymously in the American Phrenological Journal in October 1855, and he also printed and included it with other reviews in some copies of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. He printed the review yet again in a section of reviews called "Opinions. 1855–6" at the end of the 1856 edition.
  • Related Item(s):
    • A prose note is written on the back of the manuscript leaf. See duk.00154.
    • See wwa.00601.
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "the most definitely." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 08 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: duk.00945.xml (TEI)

Key

Textual Feature Appearance
Overwritten brown with strikethrough
Added inline purple with double underline
Uncertain gray with wavy underline
Supplied from another source turquoise with brackets
Metamark green with triple underline
Long deletion gray background with top and bottom border
  [begin leaf 1 recto] [cut away] the most definitely [cut away] for p polished [cut away] [cut away] his poetry [cut away] is not indifferent does not ignore [cut away] of men, [cut away] dandyfied forms.— [cut away] and American [cut away] the last first degree, [cut away] through nature, [cut away] them in the [cut away]erence which [cut away] repeatable terrible license [cut away] not take the [cut away] in its secondary [cut away] universe. The [cut away] landscape painted [cut away] men and women [cut away] mannies and [cut away]ays, with heroism [cut away] is in print.— [cut away]te best they can that poetry [cut away]e of the universe [cut away] —painting Copies, [cut away] weeping after [cut away]   [begin leaf 1 verso]
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