When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ following the death of Abraham
Lincoln, comments on how the poet finds solace in the song (poem). The
poem begins with the description of spring and blooming lilacs, which he
thinks is a cycle that will remind him of his loved one. He picks a lilac to be
offered to the coffin that has been moving around the city day and night.
Further, the poet employed the “Lilac,” “bird,” and “drooping star” as
recurrent symbols in the poem to deliberate on the impact of war and
death, especially Abraham Lincoln’s. While concluding the poem, the
poet/speaker seems to be more at peace with death than his woeful
complaint in the beginning. He concludes with the note of death being an
inevitable part that comes eventually to everyone like a mother who comes
to ease of the child from all suffering
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ being an elegy has death as a
major theme. The death of Abraham Lincoln and the impact of the Civil war
is addressed by the poet, though not directly, the images and the symbols
present in the poem, make it clear. It also deals with the persistence of life
(life that goes on) in spite of the pains and sufferings. The images of
“bustling cities,” “meals and minutiae of daily usages,” “the sun,” “the stars,”
and “the hermit bird” remind us of life’s continuance no matter what. As the
seasons come and go, life on earth comes and goes
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ is a long poem of 206 lines. It is
written in the pastoral elegy form. Whitman has done a lot of revision to the
poem from the time it was first published. In the final version, published in
1881, the poem is divided into sixteen sections with the length ranging from
5 or 6 lines to as many as 53 lines. The poem does not possess a
consistent metrical pattern, and the length of each line varies from seven
syllables to as many as twenty syllables.
Walt Whitman, well known for his rich use of symbolism in poetry to convey
his thoughts, feelings, and emotions has employed three major symbols-
the star, the lilac, and the bird. The symbols are interconnected, and
recurrent throughout the poem. Whitman has taken the symbols from the
time of Lincoln’s death. The spring and Lilac are used to represent the
cyclic nature of the season and the memory of Abraham Lincoln. The
Western Star that appears in the evening marks the approaching night is
used by the poet as a symbol to indicate the death of Abraham Lincoln the
darkness followed. It also refers to Abraham Lincoln who was like a guiding
star to the people of America during the Civil war. The hermit– thrush
represents the voice of spirituality and the poet’s soul singing
Lincoln, comments on how the poet finds solace in the song (poem). The
poem begins with the description of spring and blooming lilacs, which he
thinks is a cycle that will remind him of his loved one. He picks a lilac to be
offered to the coffin that has been moving around the city day and night.
Further, the poet employed the “Lilac,” “bird,” and “drooping star” as
recurrent symbols in the poem to deliberate on the impact of war and
death, especially Abraham Lincoln’s. While concluding the poem, the
poet/speaker seems to be more at peace with death than his woeful
complaint in the beginning. He concludes with the note of death being an
inevitable part that comes eventually to everyone like a mother who comes
to ease of the child from all suffering
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ being an elegy has death as a
major theme. The death of Abraham Lincoln and the impact of the Civil war
is addressed by the poet, though not directly, the images and the symbols
present in the poem, make it clear. It also deals with the persistence of life
(life that goes on) in spite of the pains and sufferings. The images of
“bustling cities,” “meals and minutiae of daily usages,” “the sun,” “the stars,”
and “the hermit bird” remind us of life’s continuance no matter what. As the
seasons come and go, life on earth comes and goes
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ is a long poem of 206 lines. It is
written in the pastoral elegy form. Whitman has done a lot of revision to the
poem from the time it was first published. In the final version, published in
1881, the poem is divided into sixteen sections with the length ranging from
5 or 6 lines to as many as 53 lines. The poem does not possess a
consistent metrical pattern, and the length of each line varies from seven
syllables to as many as twenty syllables.
Walt Whitman, well known for his rich use of symbolism in poetry to convey
his thoughts, feelings, and emotions has employed three major symbols-
the star, the lilac, and the bird. The symbols are interconnected, and
recurrent throughout the poem. Whitman has taken the symbols from the
time of Lincoln’s death. The spring and Lilac are used to represent the
cyclic nature of the season and the memory of Abraham Lincoln. The
Western Star that appears in the evening marks the approaching night is
used by the poet as a symbol to indicate the death of Abraham Lincoln the
darkness followed. It also refers to Abraham Lincoln who was like a guiding
star to the people of America during the Civil war. The hermit– thrush
represents the voice of spirituality and the poet’s soul singing
