Abstract:Walt Whitman, an American poet, was influenced by Emerson’s “Transcendence”. Imbued with humanism and democratic thought, he has created in his life his masterpiece of Leaves of Grass——a collection of poems. As a poetic innovator in American history, he developed a new poetic form——free verse. His poetic theory and democratic thought have made a far-reaching impact not only on modern American poetic creation but also on that of the world. 

　　　In this article, the author tries to analyze and interpret Whitman’s poem of Song of Myself, and present an account of his poetic theory and democratic thoughts. To some extent, Whitman’s Song of Myself is a song of freedom，democracy, equality and universal love. His immortal masterpiece of poems is permeated with the enthusiastic pursuit of freedom and the ardent propaganda of democracy, and completely reflects his humanistic thoughts. What is more, Whitman’s free-verse poems have influenced the Chinese modern poets and their poetic creation. As a result, the shackles of the Classical Chinese metrical poems have been broken off, and the Chinese modern poetry has been charged with great emotion and enthusiasm. 

Key words: Walt Whitman; Leaves of Grass; Song of Myself; humanism; influence

摘要:美国诗人沃尔特·惠特曼深受爱默生的“超验主义”影响，具有浓厚的人文主义和民主思想，一生创作了伟大的诗歌巨集——《草叶集》。作为美国诗歌史上的一个革新者, 他开创了一种新的诗歌写作方式——自由诗歌体。其个人的诗学理论与民主思想，不仅对美国后来的诗歌创作而且对整个世界的诗歌创作都产生了深远的影响。

　　　本文通过对惠特曼的《自我之歌》进行解读，尝试对他的诗学理论与民主思想进行较为深入的分析。他的《自我之歌》，其实就是自由之歌、民主之歌、平等之歌和博爱之歌。惠特曼的不朽诗作，充满了他对自由的炽热追求，对民主的激情宣泄，充分体现了他的人文主义精神。他的自由诗歌体，影响了中国现代诗歌的创作，打破了中国格律诗的桎梏，使中国现代诗歌呈现出激情澎湃的昂扬气势。

关键词：沃尔特·惠特曼；《草叶集》；《自我之歌》；人文主义精神；影响