Walt Whitman's "Great New Doctrine" (Part 1)

Any hope for realizing a Whitmanian Republic in the midst of these Benighted States of Leviathan must be founded upon a critical understanding of, and appreciation for, Whitman's visionary achievement. For a visionary reading of a visionary poetic legacy--vision must call to vision--we turn to the 12th chapter of D. H. Lawrence's Studies in Classic American Literature.

You will notice immediately that chapter 12 (Whitman) follows immediately upon the heels of Lawrence's chapter on Melville's Moby Dick. It would not hurt to be conversant with Lawrence, chapter 11, but it is not absolutely necessary. Understanding Melville's Gnostic masterpiece--or at least exposure to its genius--will do quite well.

Read and re-read the linked chapter and consider what a "morality which changes the blood, rather than the mind" might look like.