Walt Whitman example essay topic

A True Patriot: Walt Whitman When one talks of great American Poets, if the person has any since of intelligence, then they can in now way fail to mention Walt Whitman. Whitman is a great American poet, So great, that Ralph Waldo Emerson said that he was an "American Shakespeare" (Tucker 247). While the debate still goes on about that comment, there is no debate about the greatness of Whitman. Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, NY on May 31, 1819 on Long Island. He was the second of nine children.

He never developed a close relationship with his father, but he was very close to his mother. When he was four, he moved to Brooklyn where he went to school for six years and, when he was eleven, dropped out and began work as a clerk in a Law Office. Shortly thereafter, he became a typesetter's apprentice. He then began to teach school on Long Island. Bored by this, he began to edit and publish the Long Islander, an area newspaper (Funk 293).

But this attempt at a steady job was unsuccessful as well, he then began to write political essays and started to write what would become his life's work Leaves of Grass. He would write various books of poems, most of which would be added to Leaves of Grass, which he re-published nine times. Whitman spent his last days as the sage of Camden, New Jersey, where he died on March 36, 1892 (Magill 406). Walt Whitman, through his admiration for a fallen President, condemnation of war, and his theme of camaraderie, illustrates a definition of patriotism. Walt Whitman was an American, and he loved President Abraham Lincoln.

He had the upmost respect for the sixteenth President of the United States. His admiration was shown in his most famous work, O' Captain, My Captain. This is without a doubt the most popular poem of Whitman's career. In it, he repeats the word Captain; this word refers to Abraham Lincoln, the fallen President. He uses phrases like "fallen cold and dead" to tell of the mournful death of Lincoln.

Whitman mentions a "ship", which is the Union in the Civil War. He also uses the "voyage" to symbolize the Civil War. The overall mood of this elegy to Lincoln is grievance for the lost loved one of Whitman. He had a deep reverence for the President and it was a great pain for him when Lincoln was assassinated (Whitman 63). Another poem that Whitman wrote, that is famous for its grievance of the fallen President, is When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd. When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd is very famous for its intense symbolism surrounding the death of Abraham Lincoln.

In this poem, Whitman says that he will "mourn with ever-returning spring", this shows his deep sorrow that the poet felt for the late Lincoln. This poem, much like O' Captain, My Captain is drenched in symbolism (Unger 347). The "powerful western star" is used to symbolize Lincoln. The lilac, which is very prevalent in the poem, symbolizes rebirth of the nation after Lincoln's death.

Finally, the "hidden bird" in the poem symbolizes the poet and the power of poetry (348). In this poem, Whitman comes to terms with the loss of one he loves-Lincoln. Death and mourning shall give way to consolation and hope for the future (Magill 406). The book in which O' Captain, My Captain and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd was entitled Drum Taps. It is this book of poems in which Whitman shows the horrors and real ties of war. During the time of the Civil War, Whitman worked in Union Hospitals treating then North's wounded soldiers.

Without the traumatic experience that Whitman had, the book would not have the emotional fortitude that it has. Whitman's vivid pictures depict the ugliness of war. Whitman does, however, find some ritual significance to, in the deaths of the soldiers, they were the atonement for the living (Magill 406). The Civil War is a period in Whitman's life that he wanted to forget. Another famous poem in Drum Taps is A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Grey and Dim. This poem shows Whitman walking outside a tent one morning and coming across three bodies, he looks at the three men's faces and describes them.

The first is an elder, gaunt and grim, but still a comrade. The second is a young "boy", with cheeks yet blooming. The third is a calm man, ivory in complexion. His age is un determinable. Whitman remarks that he looks similar to Jesus, "dead and divine, brother to all" (Whitman 29). These three bodies show the hatred of war that Whitman has.

An old man, a teenager, and someone as innocent as Jesus Christ, were all killed by this horrible war. The overall theme of Drum Taps is camaraderie. In A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim, the elderly man is describe as old and grim, but still a comrade, this is very important in the overall them of the book because he is still a comrade even though he is older than the others. Camaraderie was very important in the Civil War or any war for that matter, one would have to be close with those around you. The only way to counteract the horrors of war is the camaraderie of the soldiers, if they developed friendships then they could look past the horrible thing that is war (Magill 406). A patriot is defined as a person who loves his or her country.

If there is anyone that has ever lived in this great country that can be called that, then it should be Walt Whitman. Whitman showed his love for his country and his allegiance to his president. One can deny that he is the greatest American poet, but no one can deny that he is a great American patriot.

Bibliography

Magill, Frank N. ed. Magill's Critical Survey of Poetry. 7 vols. Englewood Cliffs, 1987.
Tucker, Martin ed. Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. The Mid-Nineteenth Century to Edwardian ism. Englewood Cliffs, 1975.
Unger, Leonard ed. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. 7 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974.
Whitman, Walt. Drum Taps. Grosset & Dunlap New York: NO DATE Whitman, Walt. "Leaves of Grass". Timeless, Timeless, Themes: The American Experience. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2000.