While he touches on a variety of themes, including:
* Democracy and equality: He celebrated the common man and the diversity of America.
* Nature: He saw nature as a source of inspiration and a reflection of the divine.
* Sexuality: He was openly and explicitly about sexuality, which was taboo at the time.
* War and death: He wrote about the horrors of the Civil War.
It is the individual that shines through in almost all his poems. He explored themes of:
* Self-discovery and identity: Whitman's poetry is filled with introspection, self-reflection, and a search for meaning in life.
* The beauty of everyday life: He found poetry in the ordinary, from the bustling city streets to the quiet moments of contemplation.
* The interconnectedness of all things: He saw the individual as part of a larger whole, connected to nature, society, and the cosmos.
Whitman's poetry is deeply personal and intimate, and he uses his own experiences to explore universal human themes. He sought to capture the full spectrum of human experience, from the mundane to the profound, and to celebrate the inherent value of each individual.