In “Beat! Beat! Drums!” Whitman shows his view of what he thinks will the coming war will bring. His poem describes a noise played by drums being extremely loud. I believe the noise being played represents the importance of the coming war. He says “Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride; nor the peaceful farmer any peace plowing his field or gathering his grain.” He is saying that the music should play so loud that it should not be quiet anywhere. I believe that he is saying that the war will be the main focus and everything else will be unimportant. This fits with Whitman’s important features in his poems, which are content and emotion. He shows the content by showing that the music being played loud is …show more content…
Whitman examines the comparisons of how the soldiers feel, even though they are each other’s opponents. One similarity within this poem is the “rapid march.” The speaker understands that the other soldier does quite in fact also recognize what it is like to go into war with a mindset to become victorious of their opponents. Whitman begins to make claims that both soldiers realize the value of the battle. He portrays it as “hot contention of opposing fronts,” “the long manoeuvre,” and “Bed battles with their slaughter”. These interpretations about combat explain that both soldiers have grasped the trouble of the battle and how to manipulate the other. The “bed battles of slaughter,” show the death toll of what these soldiers’ plans they made in full effect. Then Whitman links in a convincing tone that the two soldiers are both honorable. Whitman states, “the strong, terrific game,” “Spell of all brave and manly hearts.” This is proving that Whitman understands the soldiers are courageous men. Every man who has put their life in the war falls into the category of honor and bravery in their country. In the second stanza, Whitman uses the word “Adieu” again to the soldier. After stating “Adieu” a second time in the stanzas signify that Whitman is most likely talking to a dead soldier, his enemy. …show more content…
Whitman’s viewpoint on the injured soldiers during his profession as a nurse is shown through this poem. The poem is astonishing for its lack of overstated descriptions of discomfort and sorrow. However, the consideration to detail and the illustration of pictures is very complex for a poem written in the nineteenth century. “The Wound Dresser” is an explanation of what Whitman believed was significant to the nursing job at the time when the poem was created. Also, the accounts of the wounded soldiers in the poem are very dependable because Whitman has had an abundantly amount of nursing experience and had a lot of knowledge of the hospital scene. As a matter of fact Whitman depicts to “being in the world” as a nurse and a doctor. The poem is organized in four fragments representing the conditions in the hospitals at the time of the Civil War. As Whitman composed the poem at the end of the war, the poem assists as a war veteran’s epilogue. The old-timer remembers with nostalgia some of the harsh truths of war; as opposed to other writings of triumph and glory. Whitman relates with the soldiers through communication and conveys his compassion for the soldiers through this
There are many things in this world that are impossible to understand without first hand experience.This can be especially irritating for people who have the knowledge, but see everyone else with the wrong idea. Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen show this in their poems about the common misconception of war glorification. Through imagery and the use of similes, they explain what it's really like for a person to go into battle. To outsiders, fighting in war is a noble cause worthy of envy and praise, but from the inside perspective the only thing war does is take away the innocence of
In Whitman’s poem, “Cavalry Crossing a Ford” he writes about a Cavalry marching off to war. From my research, Whitman recreates a scene from [Union General Lovell H.] Rousseau's raid through Alabama in July 1864, when his troops were crossing the Coosa River at Ten Islands Ford. He brings to life his poem by describing many details about the Cavalry’s surroundings by using lots of visual imagery. It has much visual imagery considering the length of the poem. Whitman also writes using free-verse. The speaker in the poem is taking his time to view nature; he isn’t in a rush to go to war. War is not what the speaker wants to think about. He wants to savor what may his last moments. For he knows that when he crosses the ford, he may not return home alive.
Walt Whitman is considered one of the famous American writers who lived in the 19th century. The author is primarily known for his poetry, and also best known for his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, which was published in 1855 as a collection of 12 poems. Whitman’s poems were different from those written during the era, and this is because they had a unique style, as well as a concentration of commonplace subjects. The use of commonplace subjects led to many people calling the author the “poet of democracy.” This paper compares Pre-war Whitman and Post-war Whitman. However, this is done through comparing the Song of Myself, Beat! Beat! Drums!, and The Wound Dresser. In addition, the essay also focuses on other facets of the poet.
trumpets do not call. The poet is trying to make the start of war a
Understanding the effects of war and the appalling experiences our soldiers have to endure while fighting for their country facilitates communicating effectively about literature and its function in the context of American and world history and culture (SLO2). The purpose of imagery is to help get the poet’s message across in a language that is strong and vivid.
Drum-Taps is the personal-historical record of Whitman’s wartime occupation. Drum-Taps’ early poems were written prior to Whitman’s contact with wounded soldiers, and betray a starkly different attitude toward the war than one finds later in the sequence. The chronologically earlier poems celebrate the coming hostilities, expressing Whitman’s "early near-mindless jingoism" (Norton 2130). As one progresses through the work, he finds a less energetic, sorrowful, jaded narrator who seems little like the exuberant youth who began. Understandable so, "[Whitman] estimated that over the course of the war, he had made ‘over 600 visits or tours, and went … among from some 80,000 to 100,000 of the wounded and sick, as sustainer of spirit and body in some degree, in time of need’" (Murray).
Whitman’s approach to poetry is a reflection of his thought. These thoughts are free and wild, and his typical run-on sentences and his endless litanies of people and places represent the thoughts trying to be conveyed. The overall effect of these run-on sentences provides the reader with a feeling of greatness and of freedom. All of the feelings that are evoked from Whitman’s style can be classified as quintessentially American democratic feelings. The belief that Whitman had no style would imply that Americans as a society have no style, a statement that not only Whitman but Emerson and Thoreau as well fought against through their writings. Whitman and Emerson fighting for the same cause is not coincidental, Whitman has often been viewed as the “child” of Emerson, his work being greatly influenced by Emerson. Whitman’s technique of looking at everything as a whole and always opposed to breaking up the whole can be linked to his belief of unity within our country and the reason why he took the Civil War extremely hard and personal.
Born into a working-class family in the city of New York, Whitman’s literary inspiration arises from his explorative outlook of the culture and environment in which he lives. In the midst of success as an uprising, influential writer, sudden troubles emerge. Decline in the government affects Whitman, along with his publicist’s, William Thayer and Charles Eldridge, in an unexpected downfall of business; resulting in bankruptcy and crucial depression of sales of Whitman’s text, Leaves (Beginning of the Civil War 1). In February of 1861, Whitman reads a newspaper discussing the reasoning of the downfall and society and the bitter extent in which it reaches—the firing of Fort Sumter and beginning of the Civil War. Promptly, the war weighs upon him to the point of seeking a change in his life. Correspondingly, he sacrifices his time to visit and nurse the casualties of war, resulting in the greatest inspiration of Whitman’s career; notably producing works within the uprising, evolving era of American
Through reading this poem several times I decided that the message from the poem is that war is full of horror and there is little or no glory. Methods which I found most effective were Full rhyme and metaphor.
In “The Wound Dresser,” Walt Whitman describes his experiences as a caretaker to the wounded during the civil war, and the pain and suffering he witnessed. He shares graphic images of what he observed when caring for the wounded. Much like healthcare workers today, Whitman was a servant who with humility cared for those suffering and in pain. “Devotion, sacrifice and compassion” is how Whitman described the way one needs to care for the suffering. This is applicable to h...
As a poet, Wilfred Owens wants to show the effects of warfare from the viewpoint of a soldier during a War. Owens uses his own experience as a fighter to capture the reader’s attention and get across his point. He often uses graphic imagery and words to depict his thoughts about war. Wilfred Owens, poems, “Dulce et Decorum est” and “Anthem for doomed youth” talk blatantly about the effects of warfare on the soldiers, their loved ones, and those who make an ultimate sacrifice by making a statement about the efficacy of war.
Throughout the times war has effected people immensely both physically and mentally. All people deal with their circumstances differently to help cope with what they dealing with. Whether it’s a fatality in the family, or post traumatic stress disorder most people find a way to heal from injury or emotional damage. In Brian Turners poem, “Phantom Noise,” he writes about the constant ringing he hears from the war he served in. The poem expresses that Turner seems to deal with his emotional damage by writing poetry about what he feels, hears, and sees during the time he spent in war and in civilian life. Even though Turner is no longer in war it still effects him greatly each day. The overall tone of the poem is very solemn and makes the reader
Ward, D. (2013). Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and the War that Changed Poetry Forever. Smithsonian website. Retrieved April 9 from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/walt-whitman-emily-dickinson-and-the-war-that-changed-poetry-forever-31815/?no-ist
Although Whitman uses a great deal of structural ways to stress his ideas, he also uses many other ways of delivering his ideas. First of all, Whitman portrays himself as a public spokesman of the masses. The tone of the poem is a very loud, informative tone that grabs ones attention. The emphasis placed on the word “all” adds to the characterization of Whitman as a powerful speaker. Furthermore, Whitman takes part in his own poem. Participating in his own poem, Whitman moreover illustrates the connection between everything in life. Lastly, Whitman, most of all, celebrates universal brotherhood and democracy.
In Walt Whitman’s, “One Song, America, Before I Go”, the soldier who is speaking acknowledges the danger in the war he is to fight. The soldier is content with facing the dangers though, bearing the characteristics of a patriot, and believing that his sacrifice will ensure a better America for future generations. With the soldiers