Question

In which collection did Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" first appear?

• A. Two Rivulets
• B. November Boughs
• C. The Golden Bough
• D. Leaves of Grass

Hint:

Link Whitman's signature poem "Song of Myself" with the 1855 first edition of Leaves of Grass. The poem's title changed over later editions, but its home collection did not.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Core fact
"Song of Myself" first appeared in the 1855 first edition of Leaves of Grass. That debut volume contained twelve poems, originally published without titles; the poem later known as "Song of Myself" was retitled across editions (e.g., "Poem of Walt Whitman, an American" in 1856) before settling on its famous title by the 1881 edition.

Step 2: Eliminate distractors
(A) Two Rivulets — Whitman collection from 1876; decades after the first appearance.
(B) November Boughs — Whitman prose/poetry collection from 1888; much later.
(C) The Golden Bough — by James George Frazer, an anthropological study; not Whitman at all.
\[ \boxed{\text{"Song of Myself" first appeared in } Leaves of Grass \; (1855).} \]