Beat! Beat! Drums!

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 276 - Beat! Beat! Drums!

After three episodes on President Abraham Lincoln, I would like to delve into arguably America’s greatest poet - a man whose entire outlook on life was intertwined with this positive views of and strong belief in democracy - Walt Whitman.  Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without his classic Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him."

Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Poe.

Transcript

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 276 - Beat! Beat! Drums!

After three episodes on President Abraham Lincoln, I would like to delve into arguably America’s greatest poet - a man whose entire outlook on life was intertwined with this positive views of and strong belief in democracy - Walt Whitman.  Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without his classic Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.

At age 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.

During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln - works that this podcast will delve into in episode 277. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at age 72, his funeral was a public event.  In this podcast episode, and some of the episodes to come I will try to touch on some of those events - especially Whitman’s view of democracy, as well as his patriotic works.

Now getting back to the Civil War period - Whitman was forty-two years old when the Civil War started. Some critics would charge that he should have joined the Union Army, but anyone who knew him, like his friend and biographer John Burroughs, could hardly conceive of the mild and empathic poet as a soldier. "Could there be anything more shocking and incongruous than Whitman killing people?" Burroughs would write. "One would as soon expect Jesus Christ to go to war." Yet Whitman found another way to serve his country.

Not surprisingly, Whitman strongly opposed slavery and supported the free soil platform advocating that only those territories that outlawed slavery should be allowed into the Union as new states. But he feared the Civil War would shatter his beloved nation. During the early years of the war he continued writing in Brooklyn, believing like many Americans did that the war would be soon be over. His younger brother George was one of the first to enlist in the Union Army in 1861. When George's name was published on a list of wounded soldiers in the newspapers in December 1862, Walt hurried south to find his brother. Whitman was relieved to discover that George had hardly been hurt at all.

While in Washington, D.C., Whitman discovered that he DID have something to contribute to the war effort — himself. Hospitals were not new to him; after spending time at the bedsides of injured New York stagecoach drivers, Whitman had written about conditions in the local medical wards. In the nation's capital, Whitman began making the rounds of the hospitals offering modest gifts of fruit, candy, books, pencils and paper to the hospitalized soldiers. More importantly, he lent an ear to the young men who needed a friend. His notebook from this period bore the name
of "Walt Whitman, Soldiers' Missionary."Small and Large Kindnesses.
These small charities cost money so Whitman solicited donations from friends and strangers, as well as contributing his own modest salaries from clerking jobs at the Army Paymaster's Office, the Department of the Interior and Attorney General's office. He also sold articles about his experience. In a piece in the New York Times on February 26, 1863, he wrote about ministering to a despairing Pvt. John Holmes: "I sat down by him without any fuss; talked a little; soon saw that it did him good; led him to talk a little himself; got him somewhat interested; and wrote a letter for him to his folks in Massachusetts." When Holmes told him he would like to buy some milk, Whitman gave him some change, and the young man burst into tears. Later the soldier would tell Whitman that his visit had saved his life.

Now while in Washington, Whitman would sometimes see President Abraham Lincoln in the street and tip his hat. Lincoln knew of the poet; years earlier, Lincoln's law partner had carried a copy of Leaves of Grass to their office, where the future president occasionally read the poems aloud. In April 1865 Whitman was in Brooklyn, visiting his family and going over proofs of Drum-Taps, poems inspired by the war, when Lincoln was assassinated. Whitman was devastated. Just as the book was going to press, he inserted a short new poem about Lincoln's death. A few weeks later, he wrote a longer elegy, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd."
Many Whitman scholars believe that before the Civil War, Whitman had been somewhat lost in New York, searching for a greater sense of purpose. Through his ministrations of wounded soldiers, he found that purpose and a new inspiration for his art.

In fact, Whitman was so moved and grief stricken by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln that he wrote one of this best works, When Lilacs Last in the Doorway Bloomed, about Lincoln’s sudden death.  Although Whitman never specifically mentions Lincoln by name, it gradually becomes apparent who is the subject of the poem. And Whitman plays with our imaginations as he describes various events and scenes - resulting in “a ha moments - THAT is what he is writing about.   Now before I start, I just wanted to let you know that this famous poem is about 15 minutes long - so be patient and let Whitman’s words gradually pour out to form images and ideas in your mind.

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

O powerful western fallen star!
O shades of night—O moody, tearful night!
O great star disappear’d—O the black murk that hides the star!
O cruel hands that hold me powerless—O helpless soul of me!
O harsh surrounding cloud that will not free my soul.

In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,
With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard,
With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
A sprig with its flower I break.

In the swamp in secluded recesses,
A shy and hidden bird is warbling a song.

Solitary the thrush,
The hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements,
Sings by himself a song.

Song of the bleeding throat,
Death’s outlet song of life, (for well dear brother I know,
If thou wast not granted to sing thou would’st surely die.)

Over the breast of the spring, the land, amid cities,
Amid lanes and through old woods, where lately the violets peep’d from the ground, spotting the gray debris,
Amid the grass in the fields each side of the lanes, passing the endless grass,
Passing the yellow-spear’d wheat, every grain from its shroud in the dark-brown fields uprisen,
Passing the apple-tree blows of white and pink in the orchards,
Carrying a corpse to where it shall rest in the grave,
Night and day journeys a coffin.

Coffin that passes through lanes and streets,
Through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land,
With the pomp of the inloop’d flags with the cities draped in black,
With the show of the States themselves as of crape-veil’d women standing,
With processions long and winding and the flambeaus of the night,
With the countless torches lit, with the silent sea of faces and the unbared heads,
With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces,
With dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn,
With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour’d around the coffin,
The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs—where amid these you journey,
With the tolling tolling bells’ perpetual clang,
Here, coffin that slowly passes,
I give you my sprig of lilac.

(Nor for you, for one alone,
Blossoms and branches green to coffins all I bring,
For fresh as the morning, thus would I chant a song for you O sane and sacred death.

All over bouquets of roses,
O death, I cover you over with roses and early lilies,
But mostly and now the lilac that blooms the first,
Copious I break, I break the sprigs from the bushes,
With loaded arms I come, pouring for you,
For you and the coffins all of you O death.)

O western orb sailing the heaven,
Now I know what you must have meant as a month since I walk’d,
As I walk’d in silence the transparent shadowy night,
As I saw you had something to tell as you bent to me night after night,
As you droop’d from the sky low down as if to my side, (while the other stars all look’d on,)
As we wander’d together the solemn night, (for something I know not what kept me from sleep,)
As the night advanced, and I saw on the rim of the west how full you were of woe,
As I stood on the rising ground in the breeze in the cool transparent night,
As I watch’d where you pass’d and was lost in the netherward black of the night,
As my soul in its trouble dissatisfied sank, as where you sad orb,
Concluded, dropt in the night, and was gone.

O how shall I warble myself for the dead one there I loved?
And how shall I deck my song for the large sweet soul that has gone?
And what shall my perfume be for the grave of him I love?

Sea-winds blown from east and west,
Blown from the Eastern sea and blown from the Western sea, till there on the prairies meeting,
These and with these and the breath of my chant,
I’ll perfume the grave of him I love.

O what shall I hang on the chamber walls?
And what shall the pictures be that I hang on the walls,
To adorn the burial-house of him I love?

Lo, body and soul—this land,
My own Manhattan with spires, and the sparkling and hurrying tides, and the ships,
The varied and ample land, the South and the North in the light, Ohio’s shores and flashing Missouri,
And ever the far-spreading prairies cover’d with grass and corn.

Lo, the most excellent sun so calm and haughty,
The violet and purple morn with just-felt breezes,
The gentle soft-born measureless light,
The miracle spreading bathing all, the fulfill’d noon,
The coming eve delicious, the welcome night and the stars,
Over my cities shining all, enveloping man and land.

Sing on, sing on you gray-brown bird,
Sing from the swamps, the recesses, pour your chant from the bushes,
Limitless out of the dusk, out of the cedars and pines.

Sing on dearest brother, warble your reedy song,
Loud human song, with voice of uttermost woe.

O liquid and free and tender!
O wild and loose to my soul—O wondrous singer!
You only I hear—yet the star holds me, (but will soon depart,)
Yet the lilac with mastering odor holds me.

Then with the knowledge of death as walking one side of me,
And the thought of death close-walking the other side of me,
And I in the middle as with companions, and as holding the hands of companions,
I fled forth to the hiding receiving night that talks not,
Down to the shores of the water, the path by the swamp in the dimness,
To the solemn shadowy cedars and ghostly pines so still.

Come lovely and soothing death,
Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving,
In the day, in the night, to all, to each,
Sooner or later delicate death.

Prais’d be the fathomless universe,
For life and joy, and for objects and knowledge curious,
And for love, sweet love—but praise! praise! praise!
For the sure-enwinding arms of cool-enfolding death.

Dark mother always gliding near with soft feet,
Have none chanted for thee a chant of fullest welcome?
Then I chant it for thee, I glorify thee above all,
I bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come, come unfalteringly.

Approach strong deliveress,
When it is so, when thou hast taken them I joyously sing the dead,
Lost in the loving floating ocean of thee,
Laved in the flood of thy bliss O death.
 

And I saw askant the armies,
I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags,
Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierc’d with missiles I saw them,
And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody,
And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs, (and all in silence,)
And the staffs all splinter’d and broken.

I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them,
And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them,
I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war,
But I saw they were not as was thought,
They themselves were fully at rest, they suffer’d not,
The living remain’d and suffer’d, the mother suffer’d,
And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer’d,
And the armies that remain’d suffer’d.

Passing the visions, passing the night,
Passing, unloosing the hold of my comrades’ hands,
Passing the song of the hermit bird and the tallying song of my soul,
Victorious song, death’s outlet song, yet varying ever-altering song,
As low and wailing, yet clear the notes, rising and falling, flooding the night,
Sadly sinking and fainting, as warning and warning, and yet again bursting with joy,
Covering the earth and filling the spread of the heaven,
As that powerful psalm in the night I heard from recesses,
Passing, I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves,
I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring.

I cease from my song for thee,
From my gaze on thee in the west, fronting the west, communing with thee,
O comrade lustrous with silver face in the night.

Yet each to keep and all, retrievements out of the night,
The song, the wondrous chant of the gray-brown bird,
And the tallying chant, the echo arous’d in my soul,
With the lustrous and drooping star with the countenance full of woe,
Comrades mine and I in the midst, and their memory ever to keep, for the dead I loved so well,
For the sweetest, wisest soul of all my days and lands—and this for his dear sake,
Lilac and star and bird twined with the chant of my soul,
There in the fragrant pines and the cedars dusk and dim.


Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" is a powerful and evocative work that captures the tumultuous atmosphere at the outbreak of the American Civil War.
Context and Themes
The poem was written in 1861, shortly after the start of the Civil War. It reflects Whitman's initial excitement and patriotic fervor surrounding the conflict, mirroring the general mood of many Northerners at the time2
.
Martial Imagery: The poem uses the rhythmic beating of drums and blowing of bugles as a central metaphor for the call to war. This martial music disrupts everyday life, emphasizing how the war would soon consume all aspects of society.
Disruption of Normalcy: Whitman vividly describes how the drums and bugles interrupt various peaceful scenes:
The farmer at his plow
The bridegroom in his still-night
The peaceful congregations of the church
This juxtaposition highlights the stark contrast between peacetime and wartime, underscoring the all-encompassing nature of the conflict2

For the final poem in the episode, I would like take a look at Whitman’s considerably shorter -"Beat! Beat! Drums!”: The poem features long, rhythmic lines that mimic the relentless beating of war drums.
Repetition is used effectively, with the refrain "Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!" appearing at the start of each stanza.
Vivid imagery and sensory details bring the scenes to life, allowing readers to feel the disruptive power of war.
Historical Significance
This poem represents Whitman's early perspective on the Civil War. As the conflict progressed and Whitman witnessed its devastating effects firsthand (particularly while serving as a nurse), his poetry would evolve to reflect a more somber and nuanced view of the war's impact
.
"Beat! Beat! Drums!" stands in contrast to Whitman's later, more reflective works about Lincoln and the war, such as "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which deal with themes of loss and national mourning - works that this podcast will delve into during the following episode.



Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force, Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying;
Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with
his bride,
Not the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his
grain,
So fierce you whirr and pound you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.
Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets; Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must
sleep in those beds,
No bargainers’ bargains by day—no brokers or speculators—would they
continue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing? Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge? Then rattle quicker, heavier drums—you bugles wilder blow.
Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Make no parley—stop for no expostulation,
Mind not the timid—mind not the weeper or prayer,
Mind not the old man beseeching the young man,
Let not the child’s voice be heard, nor the mother’s entreaties, Make even the trestles to shake the dead where they lie awaiting the
hearses,
So strong you thump O terrible drums—so loud you bugles blow.

In summary - I would like to briefly touch on a few of the parallels between the Civil War period and today. While slavery was the central issue of the Civil War, modern divisions span a wide range of topics including healthcare, immigration, gun control, and climate change.
Unlike the Civil War era, today's political landscape is heavily influenced by social media and partisan news sources, which can reinforce existing divisions.
But despite intense political disagreements, today's divisions have not led to armed conflict on the scale of the Civil War.
Debates over states' rights versus federal power continue to be relevant, though in different contexts. Both periods also involve conflicting visions of American identity and values, though the specific points of contention have changed. In both eras, finding common ground between opposing factions has proven challenging, though the stakes were arguably higher during the Civil War period. Finally, while the divisions of the Civil War era ultimately led to armed conflict, today's political divisions, though intense, have not reached that level of crisis. However, the persistence of deep ideological divides and the difficulty in finding common ground remain concerning parallels between the two periods.

Join Celebrate Poe for episode 277 - O Captain! My Captain! For a deep dive into the works of Walt Whitman that were inspired by Abraham Lincoln (in addition to When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, from this episode

Sources include When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d and beat, beat, drums by Walt Whitman, and perplexity.aid.