In Whitman's Hand

Manuscripts

About this Item

Title: In the gymnasium

Creator: Walt Whitman

Date: Between 1850 and 1860

Whitman Archive ID: yal.00452

Source: Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Transcribed from digital images of the original. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of manuscripts, see our statement of editorial policy.

Editorial note: Whitman probably drafted this manuscript in the early to mid-1850s. Versions of these lines appeared in a long manuscript poem titled "Pictures," which probably dates to the mid- to late 1850s. The first several lines of "Pictures" (not including these lines) were eventually revised and published as "My Picture-Gallery" in The American in October 1880. The poem was later published in Leaves of Grass as part of the "Autumn Rivulets" cluster.

Related item: Poetic lines drafted on the back of this manuscript leaf likely contributed to the poem eventually titled "Song of Myself." See yal.00483.

Contributors to digital file: Brandon James O'Neil and Nicole Gray



[begin leaf 1 recto] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Page image: https://whitmanarchive.org/manuscripts/figures/yal.00344.005_large.jpg]

In the gymnasium, leaping and lifting from


——————————

[begin hashmark section]

In Listening [illegible] in Far ago Li the classic market place—O divine
tongue, I ^too am silent under your elenchus!

O bare feet, O bulging paunch, I will saunter
along with you!

[end hashmark section]

——————————

Sauntering in the [illegible] Seeking Arguing with And For And here arguing the questioner of and in the classical time ^—Socrates in ^after the questioner in in the market place ; arguing with Socrates

(O divine tongue! I too am grow silent under your elenchus!

O bare feet! O bulging paunch belly! I saunter along ^by you and listen)
only;).—

out


[begin leaf 1 verso] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Page image: https://whitmanarchive.org/manuscripts/figures/yal.00344.006_large.jpg]




Comments?

Published Works | In Whitman's Hand | Life & Letters | Commentary | Resources | Pictures & Sound

Support the Archive | About the Archive

Distributed under a Creative Commons License. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price, editors.