Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman wasn't a very big fan of war. He thought everything about it was
negative. We can see this in his poetry. In "Beat! Beat! Drums!", he expresses
his feelings toward war using symbolism. The drums and the bugles are examples
of two symbols. He is using these objects as representing war. Whitman starts
off each stanza with the same line every time. "Beat! Beat! drums! - blow!
bugles! blow!" He uses this symbolism of war to show the effects it has on the
world. The drums and the bugles are always interrupting things. This is seen
clearly in the first stanza. The drums and bugles are interrupting the church
and the farmer can't be peaceful. Whitman continues this symbolism throughout
the rest of the poem. Whitman also speaks of how he doesn't like the war in
other poems of his. He does this in "The Wound-Dresser." He speaks of the war
as his strangest days. They were long days of sweat and dust. The reader can
tell by the explanations by Whitman......
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Approximate Word Count: 292
Approximate Pages: 2 (260 words per double-spaced page) |