Leaves of Grass: The Text?

What is the (T/t)ext of Leaves of Grass?

The elements of text are not strictly caged in by the words or the structure of the text but consist of many more facets that make up the Text of the Work. Using Leaves of Grass as a case study, we can pick apart some of these aspects on a broader range, including: context, bitext, epitext, hypertext, and urtext.

Today's versions of Leaves of Grass are rarely if ever displayed without an introduction to Whitman and his work. This background information, whatever it may be, influences the reading of Leaves of Grass in that it changes the initial experience that the audience was meant to have as Whitman intended it. The epitext of Leaves of Grass is also a key factor in the presentation of Whitman’s work and its effect on an audience (and the changes made to its aura and instances of originality). With each new edition of Whitman’s work, whether it is printed, recited, mounted onto a website, etc. changes the nature of the text.

The text of Leaves of Grass has very little to do with the actual words (though that does constitute a part of the greater Text of the work) and much more to do with all of the surrounding elements that add to the development of the work.