Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself.
THE ORIGINAL 1855 TEXT.
Revolutionary in style and controversial in content when it was first published in 1855, Whitman's masterwork has since inspired generations with its intoxicating rhythms and images, and its inclusive, praiseful joy. (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Abundant, ecstatic, generous, courageous - this is the first American epic poem, a celebration of selfhood and a catalogue of nineteenth-century American life of all ages and races.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself