1. Biographical information

   1. Early life

      • Birth date: May 31, 1819
        Birth place: West Hills, Long Island

      • Early interests: Whitman began reading at an early age; he was particularly fond of poetry and biblical literature.

      • Schooling: He attended a public school until the age of eleven

   2. Mid-life

      • Professions:

        • Whitman’s first job was at a printing shop.

        • At the age of 17, he worked as a teacher in a local schoolhouse.

        • He then became a journalist and wrote newspaper entries.

        • Whitman published his first edition of Leaves of Grass
      • Whitman and the Civil War:
        • Whitman became involved with the Civil War by moving to New York in order to aid the wounded at a various hospitals located throughout the state.

• Once Whitman received word that his brother had been wounded and placed in a Washington DC hospital, he relocated himself to that hospital.

• In Washington DC, Whitman became exposed to the numerous wounded and dying soldiers in the hospital.

• The sight of this inspired Whitman to dedicate the next eleven years of his life to aid the wounded at this Washington DC hospital.

• Whitman was hired as clerk but was abruptly fired when his boss was informed that Whitman was the author of Leaves of Grass.
1. Later Life
   • Upon word that Whitman's mother was dying, he promptly moved to New Jersey and assisted her until her untimely death
   • Despite Whitman's longing to return to Washington DC, he was forced to stay in Camden New Jersey after suffering from a severe stroke.
   • Whitman's publication of Leaves of Grass eventually supplied him with enough income to invest in his own house in Camden, where he lived for the remainder of his life.
   • Thesis: Walt Whitman was influenced to concentrate much of his poetry on individuals involved with the Civil War due to his close encounters with the war.
1. O Captain! My Captain!
   1. Topic sentence: O Captain! My Captain! Is an elegy that reflects Whitman's admiration toward the American hero Abraham Lincoln and the the sorrow felt by Whitman initiating with the assassination of Lincoln.
   2. Literary devices used to express appreciation:
      • The entire poem is an extended metaphor
        • The captain is Lincoln
        • The fearful trip is the Civil War
        • The prize is the preservation of the Union
      • Repetition of “heart”
        • Reveals the immense grief felt by Whitman at Lincoln's untimely death
        • Whitman feels connected with Lincoln due to Whitman's numerous encounters with soldiers who dedicated their lives to preserving the union which is Lincoln's aspiration.
   3. First Stanza
      • “Our fearful trip is done!”
        • This line states Whitman's relief that the war is finally over and Lincoln is at peace.
      • Lincoln's death
        • Lincoln's death is described as “bleeding drops of red” which illustrates an image similar to that seen commonly by Whitman as a nurse.
   4. Second Stanza
      • Transition from hopeful to depressing:
        • Begins positively, “bouquets and ribboned’ wreath”
        • The mood depresses as the stanza closes and Whitman discovers that Lincoln has “fallen cold and dead”. This poetic scene described resembles Whitman's experiences approaching a patient in the hospital who he has discovered to be dead.
   5. Third Stanza
      • Whitman refers to Lincoln as his father
        • Lincoln was a fatherly figure to look up to in the eyes of Whitman due to his admiration for Lincoln and his lack of a close relationship with his blood father.
      • Whitman admires Lincoln as a Civil War hero and acknowledges him as dead
2. The Wound-Dresser
   1. Topic sentence: “The Wound-Dresser” expresses Whitman's appreciation for the wounded soldiers he encountered as a nurse who have devoted their lives to preserving the Union.
   2. This poem describes Whitman's experiences as a nurse working at various hospitals to aid wounded soldiers of the Civil War.
      • Whitman describes numerous injuries that he has encountered.
   3. Whitman describes the glory and courageousness expressed by every individual wounded soldier as he/she sacrificed his/her health to the cause of preserving the Union.
   4. Whitman proceeds to elaborate upon the realization that each casualty is a loss of a unique individual who is loved by a family.
      • For this reason, he despises the Civil War.

• Whitman describes his simple comforting act of sitting by the severely wounded soldiers until their unfortunate death.

1. The poem portrays a depressing mood which reflects the Whitman's mood as a nurse due to the Civil War and its unforgiving evil.
   • Whitman expresses the sheer number of casualties of these “heroes” to reinforce the depressing mood
2. Whitman's brother became wounded in combat and was sent to the hospital which partially influenced Whitman to write this gruesome and depressing poem.
1. Ashes of Soldiers
   1. Whitman initiates this poem with the line, “Ashes of soldiers North or South” then proceeds to express his opinion that the killed soldiers are each equally detrimental and avoidable losses, regardless of which side they were fighting for.
      • Throughout this poem, Whitman hints at the idea that the Civil War fighting could have been avoided and thousands of lives could have been saved.
   2. Whitman refers to the deceased soldiers as his “comrades” due to his close relationships formulated with soldiers as a nurse at hospitals.
      • Whitman describes his strong love and bonds that still exist with the deceased.
      • Whitman explains that he misses each of his deceased “comrades”.
   3. Each dead soldier described in this poem was an actual soldier that Whitman met and collaborated with during the soldier's final days of life.
2. Drum-Taps
   1. Whitman wrote the majority of this poem as the Civil War began to reach its conclusion in 1865.
   2. This poem's primary theme is that war encompasses all.
      • He explains that no portion of society is left untouched by war and its detrimental effects. He feels this way because of the war's life changing effect on him.
   3. Whitman expresses his ideas for the North to prevail.
      • He feels that the North must unify in order to maintain the democracy. This reflects his preference for the North to overcome the south.
      • Whitman communicates his thought that each deceased Union soldier had an impact on the war which ultimately brought success to the North.
   4. Whitman articulates each mans' tremendous bravery to stand up and fight for a cause.

• He addresses the fact that many of the brave soldiers left their jobs as lawyers, judges, and salesmen in order to support their cause.
  • Whitman became enlightened with many soldiers' lives and previous occupations (which he describes periodically throughout this poem) due to his involvement at Civil War hospitals and conversations held with the wounded.

6. Concluding paragraph

   1. Restated thesis: Walt Whitman's poetry primarily focused on admiring individual military heroes as a result of his involvement with the Civil War.

   2. O Captain! My Captain!

      • Whitman expresses his feelings about the great military genius Abraham Lincoln and his triumphant journey leading the Union through the Civil War.

      • Here Whitman reveals negative feelings associated with Lincoln's death as though a part of him died with Lincoln.

   3. The Wound-Dresser

      • This poem Reveals Whitman’s perspective on the wounded soldiers during his occupation as a nurse.

      • Whitman connects with the soldiers through communication and expresses his sympathy for them through this poem.

   4. Ashes of Soldiers
      • Whitman illustrates the true devastating loss of each soldier as an individual.
      • He expresses his opinion that each of the thousands of deaths were entirely avoidable.
   5. Drum-Taps
      • Whitman articulates his biased opinion toward the Northern Union by expressing his desire for their victory. It becomes unquestionable that Whitman strongly admires democracy at the time of the Civil War.