Turbid Ardors And Vain Joys Analysis

Melville viewed the Civil War as a bloody battle between brothers. His poetry shows the true side to the Civil War, without all of the grandeur and pageantry that other authors have used to describe battles. I believe that his feelings on the war were that it was, like every war, an old mans war that was fought by young men. This can easily be seen in his poem The March into Virginia. Melville wrote, “Youth must its ignorant impulse lend- Age finds place in the rear. All wars are boyish, and are fought by boys, The champions and enthusiasts of the state: Turbid ardors and vain joys”. The line “The champions and enthusiasts of the state” is referring to the leaders of the government such as the House of Representatives or the Senate. The next line, “Turbid ardors and vain joys” means that the leaders find joy in sending the young to fight. In this poem he also paint the picture of the young men marching to battle. “ The banners play, the bugles call, The air is blue and prodigal. No berrying party, pleasure-wooed, No picnic party in the May, Ever went less loth than they.” In these 5 lines …show more content…
“In Bacchic glee they file toward Fate, Moloch’s uninitiate” in this line he is comparing the young soldiers who are happily march to their death. Moloch is an Old Testament god of the heathen’s who children were sacrificed to. Melville also uses other religious terms that come from Greek and roman mythology. The term “Bacchic” means anything that relates to the Roman god Bacchus, who was the god of wine. Also the term Fate relates to events that could not be changed in Greek and Roman mythology. Overall, this poem is trying to show the way that children and young men were used to fight, and were marched to there death for the enjoyment and views that were held by old men in the