--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Copulation is no more foul to me than…" description: "\"Copulation is no more foul to me than death is.\" — Walt Whitman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png" --- # Copulation is no more foul to me than death is. ![“Copulation is no more foul to me than death is.” quote by Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png) > “Copulation is no more foul to me than death is.” [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death and sexual union are both natural, equal parts of life’s cycle, not to be feared. **In simple terms:** Sex and death are natural. Key Takeaway Accept both as life’s parts. Themes mortality sexuality nature Mood thoughtful philosophical Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - intimate relationships - grieving processes Key Concepts existentialism human experience Questions to Reflect On - Do you view sex as life‑affirming? - How do you reconcile mortality? A Different Perspective Equating sex with death may ignore emotional differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Copulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copulation/) [Copulation Foul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copulation-foul-3262824/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Foul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foul/) [Foul Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foul-death-3262825/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) ## Related quotes > [Thus, in pornographic novels, action has to be limited to the copulation of clichés.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/thus-in-pornographic-novels-action-has-to-be-limited-to-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In general, I don't care for scenes of copulation.Certain functions of the human body are bloody private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-holden/in-general-i-don-t-care-for-scenes-of-copulation-certain-functions-of/) [William Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-holden/) > [“He copulated with a number of girls, but copulation was not the joy it ought to be. It was a mere relief of need,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/he-copulated-with-a-number-of-girls-but-copulation-was-not-the-joy-it/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Maybe he had become addicted after all—addicted to being the pivot point, to being as central as that crucial joint between copulating man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-robert-lee/maybe-he-had-become-addicted-after-all-addicted-to-being-the-pivot/) [Victor Robert Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-robert-lee/) > [Storytelling and copulation are the two chief forms of amusement in the South. They’re inexpensive and easy to procure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/storytelling-and-copulation-are-the-two-chief-forms-of-amusement-in-2/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“Fake Math owes its existence to a number of things and people who have inspired and assisted this book on its way into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-fitzpatrick/fake-math-owes-its-existence-to-a-number-of-things-and-people-who/) [ryan fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-fitzpatrick/) > [Promiscuous ... was a word I had never applied to myself. Possibly no one ever does, for it is a sordid word, reducing many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/promiscuous-was-a-word-i-had-never-applied-to-myself-possibly-no-one/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Adriana loved even the rank animal smell of the man's body, her sweat-slicked breasts and belly flattened beneath him, and her arms and legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/adriana-loved-even-the-rank-animal-smell-of-the-man-s-body-her-sweat/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Storytelling and copulation are the two chief forms of amusement in the South. Theyre inexpensive and easy to procure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/storytelling-and-copulation-are-the-two-chief-forms-of-amusement-in/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“We don't need less kids, just more middle managers...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-fitzpatrick/we-don-t-need-less-kids-just-more-middle-managers/) [ryan fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-fitzpatrick/) > [“Mental Penetration isn't about physical copulation but a cerebral stimulation causing ejaculations of the mind...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/mental-penetration-isn-t-about-physical-copulation-but-a-cerebral/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [What's the point of a revolution without general copulation copulation copulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weiss/what-s-the-point-of-a-revolution-without-general-copulation/) [Peter Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weiss/) > [“Marriage is the commodification of affection, copulation, and, reproduction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/marriage-is-the-commodification-of-affection-copulation-and/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The history of woman is the history of the continued and universal oppression of one sex by the other. The emancipation of woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/the-history-of-woman-is-the-history-of-the-continued-and-universal/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) ## More by Walt Whitman > [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Each of us inevitable, Each of us limitless—each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allow'd the eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“it makes such difference where you read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/it-makes-such-difference-where-you-read/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it, Wisdom is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/wisdom-is-not-finally-tested-in-the-schools-wisdom-cannot-be-pass-d/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I think I could always live with animals. The more you're around people, the more you love animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-always-live-with-animals-the-more-you-re-around/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-the-poet-of-the-body-and-i-am-the-poet-of-the-soul-the-pleasures/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [So here I sit in the early candle-light of old age-I and my book-casting backward glances over out travel'd road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/so-here-i-sit-in-the-early-candle-light-of-old-age-i-and-my-book/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-dismiss-what-insults-your-soul/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/this-is-what-you-shall-do-love-the-earth-and-sun-and-animals-despise/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless-each of us with his or her right upon the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her-2/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) [Explore all 775 Walt Whitman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More Copulation quotes > [“Marriage is the commodification of affection, copulation, and, reproduction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/marriage-is-the-commodification-of-affection-copulation-and/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [What's the point of a revolution without general copulation copulation copulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weiss/what-s-the-point-of-a-revolution-without-general-copulation/) [Peter Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weiss/) > [“Mental Penetration isn't about physical copulation but a cerebral stimulation causing ejaculations of the mind...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/mental-penetration-isn-t-about-physical-copulation-but-a-cerebral/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [“We don't need less kids, just more middle managers...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-fitzpatrick/we-don-t-need-less-kids-just-more-middle-managers/) [ryan fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-fitzpatrick/) > [Storytelling and copulation are the two chief forms of amusement in the South. Theyre inexpensive and easy to procure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/storytelling-and-copulation-are-the-two-chief-forms-of-amusement-in/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Adriana loved even the rank animal smell of the man's body, her sweat-slicked breasts and belly flattened beneath him, and her arms and legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/adriana-loved-even-the-rank-animal-smell-of-the-man-s-body-her-sweat/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Promiscuous ... was a word I had never applied to myself. Possibly no one ever does, for it is a sordid word, reducing many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/promiscuous-was-a-word-i-had-never-applied-to-myself-possibly-no-one/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [“Fake Math owes its existence to a number of things and people who have inspired and assisted this book on its way into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-fitzpatrick/fake-math-owes-its-existence-to-a-number-of-things-and-people-who/) [ryan fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-fitzpatrick/) > [Storytelling and copulation are the two chief forms of amusement in the South. They’re inexpensive and easy to procure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/storytelling-and-copulation-are-the-two-chief-forms-of-amusement-in-2/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“Maybe he had become addicted after all—addicted to being the pivot point, to being as central as that crucial joint between copulating man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-robert-lee/maybe-he-had-become-addicted-after-all-addicted-to-being-the-pivot/) [Victor Robert Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-robert-lee/) > [“He copulated with a number of girls, but copulation was not the joy it ought to be. It was a mere relief of need,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/he-copulated-with-a-number-of-girls-but-copulation-was-not-the-joy-it/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [In general, I don't care for scenes of copulation.Certain functions of the human body are bloody private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-holden/in-general-i-don-t-care-for-scenes-of-copulation-certain-functions-of/) [William Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-holden/) > [Thus, in pornographic novels, action has to be limited to the copulation of clichés.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/thus-in-pornographic-novels-action-has-to-be-limited-to-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) [Browse all 14 Copulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Copulation is no more foul to me than death is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walt Whitman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-death-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Copulation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-death-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/walt-whitman-265_copulation_copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-de_2774017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Copulation is no more foul to me than death is.” — Walt Whitman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Walt Whitman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Copulation is no more foul to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-death-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/copulation-is-no-more-foul-to-me-than-death-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```