“For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning”, this would be shocking to Whitman, because the amount of voices praising Whitman’s works has grown exponentially since his death. Walt Whitman’s works have gone on an intriguing journey from the time that they were first published to the current era. However, as time has passed Whitman has become to be known as a celebrated and innovative poet. Whitman versatility is seen by the thoughts of death, desolation of hearts, and suffering in Drum Taps that is juxtaposed by the exultant and spirited tones from Leaves of Grass (Burroughs 6).Whitman’s poetic works varied from his initial compilations, his post-war works, and the way that critics received the works.
Whitman is most renowned …show more content…
Whitman masterfully executed rhythm so that his poems mirrored the sounds of the Civil War. This is especially seen were Whitman portrays the power of battle music in “Beat! Beat! Drums!” through the syncopated nature of “Beat! Beat! Drums!-blow! bugles! blow!”. The resulting rhythm produces a growing urgency that mirrors Whitman’s attitude at the beginning of the war (Picker 233). Whitman again reveals the power of rhythm by changing it to reveal the time difference between the poems. This is seen when Whitman’s tone shifts at the middle of Drum-Taps with “Year that Trembl’d and Reel’d beneath Me”, revealing his self-doubt as the war causalities build destroying the previous excitement of the war (Picker 233).
In addition to rhythm, Whitman wrote with fierce imagery that spoke to everyone. In “By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame”, Whitman depicts the evoking image of a homesick soldier in the solitude of the dark camp. The poem displays Whitman’s sadness for the young soldiers, and his imagery portrays the emotions and experience of the soldiers to civilians (Price 11). It is this ability to convey the harsh reality of war, which marks Drum-Taps as one of the prime examples of American war …show more content…
This arose due to his disregard for censorship of his poems. An example of this stems from Whitman’s sixth edition of Leaves of Grass was the first book to be banned in Boston. This was based on the Boston district attorney’s opinion that the majority of the edition was pornographic and required censorship (Loving 6). Even prior to his sixth edition Whitman received controversy because of the inclusion of “Children of Adam” in the third edition of Leaves of Grass. The controversy arose over the idea of having sex outside of marriage, which was considered a radical idea. This poem caused Whitman to be prohibited from joining the literary establishment of his day (Loving
Whitman is most renowned …show more content…
Whitman masterfully executed rhythm so that his poems mirrored the sounds of the Civil War. This is especially seen were Whitman portrays the power of battle music in “Beat! Beat! Drums!” through the syncopated nature of “Beat! Beat! Drums!-blow! bugles! blow!”. The resulting rhythm produces a growing urgency that mirrors Whitman’s attitude at the beginning of the war (Picker 233). Whitman again reveals the power of rhythm by changing it to reveal the time difference between the poems. This is seen when Whitman’s tone shifts at the middle of Drum-Taps with “Year that Trembl’d and Reel’d beneath Me”, revealing his self-doubt as the war causalities build destroying the previous excitement of the war (Picker 233).
In addition to rhythm, Whitman wrote with fierce imagery that spoke to everyone. In “By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame”, Whitman depicts the evoking image of a homesick soldier in the solitude of the dark camp. The poem displays Whitman’s sadness for the young soldiers, and his imagery portrays the emotions and experience of the soldiers to civilians (Price 11). It is this ability to convey the harsh reality of war, which marks Drum-Taps as one of the prime examples of American war …show more content…
This arose due to his disregard for censorship of his poems. An example of this stems from Whitman’s sixth edition of Leaves of Grass was the first book to be banned in Boston. This was based on the Boston district attorney’s opinion that the majority of the edition was pornographic and required censorship (Loving 6). Even prior to his sixth edition Whitman received controversy because of the inclusion of “Children of Adam” in the third edition of Leaves of Grass. The controversy arose over the idea of having sex outside of marriage, which was considered a radical idea. This poem caused Whitman to be prohibited from joining the literary establishment of his day (Loving