Henry Timrod - "The Cotton Boll"

I found Timrod's poem to be a classic work of Southern pride and boastfulness. As he describes the beauty of the "crimson hills and purple lawns," I could not help but think that this man was in denial about the ensuing war. But then I went back and read the poem more closely and I understood better where he was coming from. It seems that in his descriptions of the Southern plantation that he sees, Timrod is trying to evoke a certain sympathy from the reader in support of the South. There is an underlying sense that Timrod's descriptions of all the beauties of this scene are meant to invoke a feeling of etherealness and a god-like land. In fact, it seems that Timrod is exclaiming that the South indeed was ordained by God. On page 318 he says "His be the meed whose pencil's trace / Hath touched our very swamps with grace / And round whose tuneful way / All Southern laurels bloom." I think the fact that Timrod feels that the South has been ordained by God is an indication of his feelings toward the war, and that God will be on the side of the South when the fighting commences. I also feel like the highly descriptive passages about the land is in deep contrast with the last page of the poem, and that Timrod is kind of warning his fellow Southerners that their beautiful country will soon be tarnished if they do not seek an end to the fighting. I think it is interesting that while Timrod is sympathizing with the South and describing her glorious beauty, he is also being an advocate for peace. At the time, most Southerners' feelings about the North were far beyond the realm of peace, and most of the Southerners were very conscious that the fight between the North over slavery and states' rights would have to end in bloodshed. I feel like Timrod in a way was one of the first real pacifists (or in his case, a kind of a hippy) in regards to war. While everyone else is off busying themselves for the fight, he sits and contemplates the essence of nature and how to bring peace to his land. It is no wonder the guy fell apart after the war, seeing as how he is so sensitive to beauty and peace.