Drum Taps Whitman Analysis

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Drum Taps a collection of Civil War poetry Walt Whitman is a poet from the 1800s that has written a book called Leaves of Grass. In his collection Drum Taps Whitman speaks about the Civil War and its effects on the American people. Many scholars, and myself believe that throughout this collection he changes his tone, theme and imagery. Whitman’s brother was wounded and admitted into a hospital. Upon hearing this news, Walt rushed to find his brother and when he did he saw just how horrific the war had become. As Kenneth M. Price says in his article, Whitman began to visit the hospital regularly and these visits are said to be the cause of the tone change of this collection. While giving us background information, Price also informs us of Whitman’s…show more content…
He begins the collection with a cheery tone and sound effects, but as it continues he shows the horrific events that he is starting to encounter. Jamison also points out that Whitman’s poetry isn’t about the injuring of people on either side instead it is about the healing of the injured. This shows that Whitman wasn’t picking a side in the Civil War, instead he was trying to show that no matter which side they were on that they needed healing.an Jamison helps point out that not only did Whitman have great pieces, but that he cared for everyone no matter what side they were…show more content…
The first phase is joy, the second phase is sacrifice, and the third phase is grief. While these three stages have all been referenced, clarifying the distinction between the second and third phases would help to understand there importance. The second phase ends with the poem “By the Bivouac's Fitful Flame.” This is the end of just talking about from the soldier’s point of view and where it starts speaking of the death that is occurring as well. The poems that follow show loses from both the war front and the home front. Soldiers are watching their friends die and families are receiving bad news. Overall, Whitman is using these phases as a timeline as to how he and many other Americans experienced the war. (Lybeer,
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