Abstract:Walt Whitman was a great American poet in 19th century. Due to his family background, he took a variety of jobs at early years for making money to help family. Therefore he had so much experience with the people he saw ,the surroundings he felt and the things he did. Then literarily he broke many boundaries of poetic forms because of his "open mind", especially employing the free verse. And he also reveals sexuality which at the beginning arouse many disputes on him and his poetry but which approved his greatness. His major work Leaves of Grass was an American epic that made Whitman outstanding. He got influences from his own narratives and every corner of the world including the people, events and thoughts of that time. His greatness was gradually discovered. And he cared about common people, democracy and abolitionism. He was a humanist and optimist that many humanist and optimistic opinions show in his poems. Meanwhile he also had much influence,especially his great influence on modern poetry with a brand-new American feature. His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture. Moreover contemporary American poetry , whatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence. For his innovation in diction and versification, his frankness about sex, his inclusion of the commonplace and the ugly and his censure of the weakness of the Amercian democratic practice- all these have paved his way to a share of immortality in American literature.

Key words: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, free verse 

摘要:沃尔特·惠特曼是十九世纪伟大的美国诗人。由于家庭背景的原因，早年的他就做过多份工作挣钱帮助家里。因此，他经历了很多，包括和他所见到过的人，所感受到的环境和亲身经历过的事情。随后，惠特曼由于其开放大胆的思维，突破了诗歌形式的种种限制，特别是他采用了自由体诗。起初，他诗中所出现的性引起了激烈的争论，不仅争论他本人还包括他的诗，但这也证明了他的伟大之处。惠特曼的主要作品《草叶集》就是美国的一部史诗，该作品使他成为了杰出的诗人。他不仅受到自己经历的影响，还受到来自万千世界各个角落的影响，包括人，事件，以及当时的万千思潮。他的伟大之处是渐渐被发现的。他关注普通大众，关心民主主义和废奴主义。他是一个人道主义者和乐观主义者，他人道主义和乐观主义的观点都体现在他的诗歌里。所以他也造成了很多影响，特别影响了现代诗歌，因为他带了一种全新的美国特征。他的作品已经成为西方文化的共同财产。当代的美国诗歌，不管是何种形式或何种流派都目睹并见证了他非凡的魅力和影响力。在措词和作诗上的创新，对性的坦率，对平凡和丑陋事物的包容，对美国民主施行中暴露出来的弱点的谴责，都为他成为美国文学史上的不朽丰碑铺平了道路。

关键词：沃尔特·惠特曼，草叶集，自由体诗