I can't believe I gave this only three stars the first time around! My only defense is that I was younger and more naive at the time and may have skipped around a bit (sinful, I know). Reading these poems now, I absolutely love the narrative pieces Whitman creates with simplistic, straightforward lines accented with powerful imagery and fascinating dichotomies. I particularly enjoyed "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" and similar pieces that contrasted human nature with the impositions of society. I will say that some of the memorial pieces (particularly those concerning Abraham Lincoln) felt a little too heavy handed compared with his other pieces so I wasn't as interested in those. All the same, gorgeous works and a recommended classic for anyone even remotely interested in poetry.