Walt Whitman was a 19th century American poet best known for his work Leaves of Grass, which he continually revised and expanded over his lifetime. His free verse style had a significant influence on modern poetry. His poem "Song of Myself" constructs an idea of self that transcends boundaries and questions the relationship between individuals and their environment, society, and nation. It explores themes of anti-individualism, social structure rejection, and a reconfigured national identity that collapses distinctions between self and other.