Whitman

I feel like the sheer dynamic way in which Whitman is portraying the Civil War in this poem is evidence that Neely's claim is valid. For me, the poem is extreme in the sense that it seems Whitman cares not what the effects of the war will be, but merely that the war should be fought in any way necessary, so long as it preserved the Union. I found the passages "Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation" and "Make no parley-stop for no expostulation" to be the best evidence for his elevation of the entire cause (the preservation of the Union) over smaller, more unexciting things (like church and marriages). The way that Whitman seems to devalue all these institutions in light of the greater cause (the war) makes me think that he would not have been at all concerned with the Emancipation Proclamation, since it was mainly a tactic to get the North back on the winning side again. It seems that throughout the poem Whitman is advocating for the tactic of "any means to an end." Furthermore, it seems like Whitman is denouncing anything and everything that has a connotation of innocence and is upholding things that have connotations of cruelty and violence in the poem. For instance, he says things like "Mind not the timid," "Let not the child's voice be heard, " and "Mind not the old man." In light of these assertions, Whitman is consistently saying things like "rattle quicker, heavier drums - you bugles wilder blow." It seems that by denying the innocent and favoring the violent, that Whitman holds the cause of reinstituting the Union at heart, and that the more benevolent consequences of the war (i.e. abolishing slavery) are minor and insignificant details that come out of the greater cause. Overall, this poem by Whitman is more aggressive than the other two pieces we've read by Horton and Timrod. In fact, up until I read the Whitman poem, I thought the other two pieces had pretty violent portrayals of the war (now Horton seems like a casual observer of a small battle, and Timrod seems like a flowery southern sympathizer) and I think that my viewpoint changed because Whitman's piece is so much more proactive than the other pieces. While Whitman is encouraging the fervor in men to fight with their all, Timrod and Horton are taking a more descriptive and objective view toward the war. In the end, this go-getter kind of attitude makes Whitman's work more passionate and almost border-line sadistic for me.