Analysis of Whitman’s Bivouac on a Mountain Side
First published after the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, Walt Whitman’s poem “Bivouac on a Mountain Side” portrays more than just the tangible picture of a transcendentalist’s vision. The mood of the poem reflects the author’s observations and visions of the Civil War while stationed in Washington and Virginia as well as his beliefs about the war by use of imagery and symbolism.
The use of imagery in “Bivouac on a Mountain Side” is one of the compelling factors that draws the reader into the poem so that he/she no longer reads what Whitman is writing, but rather sees what he is describing and understands Whitman’s place in the war. Different from
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“The actual soldier, North and South, with all his ways, his incredible dauntlessness, his superb strength and lawless gait, will never be written. No future age can know, but I well know, how the war resided in the unnamed, unknown rank and file, and the brunt of its labor of death was volunteered” (Whitman, www.dentistry.com/cwrt/cwrtlink.html). This view of Whitman’s clearly illustrates that he believed that he understood the emotional and psychological aspects of the soldiers well enough to probe deeper their minds in order to find a truth yet untold. It is these strikingly different imageries that set the mood for the poem: that of an unobtainable peace that cannot be grasped but for a fleeting second. The next lines of the poem take the contrasting landscapes and add a human element into the poem in order to symbolically represent not the presence of human beings, but their emotion and thought. The fifth line, "The numerous camp-fires scatter'd near and far, some away up on the mountain", I believe not only gives the reader an image of the scene being depicted in the poem, but also is representative of a typical soldier's feeling and psyche during the war. Numerous journal accounts reveal that often during the time of war, the soldiers' thoughts would "scatter" with things both near and far to them, with images of returning home, of peace, and of seeing their loved ones for the
The poem was written to show that war is a waste of human life as the soldier knows he will die one day as well as the men around him, just some quicker than others. This can be evident in stanza four of the poem: “I know I’ll join them somewhere, one day.” The language used is more casual than formative, this is effective as it shows the personal feelings and thoughts of the soldier during the time
In the second stanza the distinctive experience of power is present. The use of the technique of imagery and emotive words “to pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows’ tells us that the soldiers were strong, loyal and had enough power within a degree to assist fellow soldiers. The use of personification to create sound “sob and clubbing of the gunfire” This leads the audience to understand what the soldiers were up against without even directly saying it. The imagery visually shows the scene in their
In the middle of the poem, the speaker arrives at the number of casualties from the war. When he reads this number he can’t believe that he is still alive. As he reads down the names he uses the visual imagery and simile to describe how he expected to find his own name in “letters like smoke” (line 16). This helps the reader understand how lucky the speaker felt about somehow escaping the war still alive. As he goes
causes the poem to flow, and thus lightens up the dark and serious issue of war. The lines "But ranged as infantry, And staring face to face, I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place." are easy to read; however, their meaning is extremely
In this free-verse war poem, the idea of 'journey' extends itself to cover both the physical and emotional aspects of the subject matter of the poem. Repetition and word
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” Like movies, novels and music, poems are texts that people use to reflect on their lives and experiences. Poems can have an impact on people’s thinking, not only through the things they might say to their readers, but through the discussions that readers have with each other about poems. I truly agree with this statement and believe that it accurately describes how people can reflect on their lives after reading poems. I chose the genre of war poetry, as it is one of the most successful, it captivates the reader, with either glorious and courageous events or tragedy and loss resulting from war. Today I will be comparing two poems, both relating to war but from different time periods; they are ‘Beach Burial’, by Kenneth Slessor, written In 1944 during the Modern Era, and ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson written in 1854 during the Victorian Era.
Walt Whitman uses the literary devices of tone, plot, and imagery in his poem “The Artilleryman’s Vision” and in his letter to his mother to show how war affects everyone differently. For some, it may continue to affect them long after the war is over or for others it may have been a somewhat positive experience that does not result in post traumatic stress disorder. Whitman uses the literary device of tone in both his letter and his poem to show how different soldiers have varying experiences of war and how they will be affected differently. In the poem, “The Artilleryman’s Vision”, a veteran is having a vivid nightmare while his wife and infant sleep on.
In the opening lines of the poem where the soldiers, “sway and wander in the water far under,” he manages to tell us that the tone of the poem is soft and calming. But it eventually changes to become blunt and it is evident in the line, “the sob and clubbing of gunfire.” This shows us the brutality of war and how horrifying it is. Even the title of the poem is a paradox itself. The beach is normally a place to have fun but in the poem it is described to be a place of death because the word “burial” is put next to it.
Similarly to trees who are cut down only to be replaced by another the soldiers were constantly being replaced by another because they were dying rapidly for a war that wasn't going anywhere. This proves the theme that the immature can fight, it takes true maturity to settle ones’ differences because, had the people been mature enough to settle their problems reasonably the soldiers wouldn't be piling up and they would instead be bearing fruit that would have actually worked to better the nation, instead of dying to settle an old feud. Diction/ Tone “People scorned the…” -Europe line 13 By using the word “scorned” to describe the Peoples feelings Whitman creates a disappointed tone toward his fellow americans.
Even though the southerners are technically his enemy, he still loves them tenderly as he would his own kin. His family has been killed at the hands of his family. There were many pale-faced men as this who were unfortunate victims of civil warfare. This is a terrible tragedy, and Whitman challenges this by asking what happens after these "hard-fought engagements or sieges tremendous? What deepest remains" (The Wound-Dresser, l 12)? The answer, only those who survive to tell the tale remain. Is it really something to celebrate after massacring your fellow countrymen? One might point out the heroics and bravery exhibited in the war, men have been made stronger and is just a growing experience for the country, but "was one side so brave? The other was equally brave" (The Wound-Dresser, l 8). The heroics and bravery are without direction in this war. If you commit a great act of sacrifice, then the results only hurt those whom you share land with, your countrymen, your brethren. Whitman grieves for these people, "for my enemy is dead. A man as divine as myself is dead" (Reconciliation, l 4). There is no purpose to this feud; it has extinguished a man, who is an equal, from this world. By speaking of his enemies as his equals and as divine as himself, he captures their humanity and in effect how inhumane it is to destroy them utterly. Through this portrayal of parity in the humanness of those who endure torture, Whitman thrusts out that the war ultimately
Walt Whitman was one of the best literary figures of that time and through history because people still love his books. After Whitman stopped writing he decided to become a nurse during the Civil War. His most famous book was Leaves of Grass; it is now a trademark book through history. He also wrote about the potential freedom in America.
War poetry displays an accurate representation of the sensations felt during the horrid times of battle. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, D.B. asks Allie, “who was the best war poet, Rupert Brooke or Emily Dickinson” (140). The question proposed can be answered with many different opinions, as the individual's knowledge and understanding of each poet will impact their decision. In contrast to Rupert Brooke, Emily Dickinson is clearly the superior war poet as she portrays soldiers and the idea of death in an insightful manner, which causes the reader to go beyond their comprehension of the words to recognize the full potential of the poem.
The poem starts with similar word choices as ‘The Soldier’ but written in the perspective of the mother. The mother tells his son that when he dies he will be in a place of ‘quietness’ and free from the ‘loss and bloodshed’. This reinforces the fact that the battlefield was full of horrors and death. The poem then moves onto how ‘men may rest themselves and dream of nought’ explaining that the soldiers do not have to fear for their lives after their death. This illustrates how they feared for their lives and had negative connotations.
Walt Whitman is considered by many to be one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century. Whitman grew up in New York and was a member of a large family, having eight siblings. Only four of these siblings lived to adulthood. His father was an alcoholic, which led to Whitman becoming more like a father-figure than a brother to his siblings. Whitman quit school at the age of eleven. He then worked as a journalist, as a carpenter, as a teacher, and as an editor before focusing on poetry. Whitman is most well-known for his book of poems, Leaves of Grass. Whitman could not find a publisher interested in his poems; therefore, he published them himself. Whitman rereleased this collection of poems several times, each time with the addition of
Notable poets such as Walt Whitman became first recognized during the American Civil War. Poetry has made a major impact on civilizations during times of war and dispute. Poetry has become an outlet for “war poets” to recap on their experiences during time served in the war and express their thoughts. Once readers are moved by what conditions during a war really consist of and how devastating it can be more people were rally for peace and became united in their quest to end the war.Family members of fallen soldiers have found a sense of comfort from keeping the poems that were written by their relatives as a way of remembrance. During the war many written poems were published in newspapers making them widely available to more enthusiast. While war pamphlet hid the horror and distorted reality; war poems shed light on the truth a informed many of the brutality of others experiences raising awareness and joining more in the anti war community.