Essay on Whitman’s Bivouac on a Mountain Side -- Whitman Bivouac on a

Analysis of Whitmans Bivouac on a Mountain array First published after the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, Walt Whitmans metrical composition Bivouac on a Mountain view portrays more than just the tangible picture of a transcendentalists vision. The pique of the poem reflects the authors observations and visions of the Civil War while stationed in Washington and Virginia as well as his beliefs about the war by use of imagery and symbolism. The use of imagery in Bivouac on a Mountain Side is one of the compelling factors that draws the reader into the poem so that he/she no longer reads what Whitman is writing, but rather sees what he is describing and understands Whitmans place in the war. Different from other Whitman poems, Bivouac on a Mountain Side does not contain the title dialect anywhere in the body of the poem, but rather sets the stage for the expound scene. Whitmans use of imagery in Bivouac on a Mountain Side provides the basis for symbolic representation i n the poem. In the first personal credit line of the poem, I see before me straight a traveling army halting, begins the description of a troop that he is observing. Starting with the second line of the poem, Whitman attaches meaning to each of the elements in the poem. A fatty valley spread, with barns and the orchards of summer symbolizes the peaceful stillness of a rustic that has not been torn by war. In a sense, the second line is used to represent an unadulterated America. However, behind that lies the terraced sides of a mountain, abrupt, in places come up high, broken with rocks, with clinging cedars, and with tall shapes dingily seen (lines 3 and 4). The description of this grand and virtually menacing mountain, in contrast to the val... ...ut first hand observations of the war taking place around him. Looking deeper into the poem enables the reader to gain Whitmans insight about the soldiers during the war their fear, excitement, and hope. (1) I see before me no w a traveling army halting (2) Below a fertile valley spread, with barns and the orchards of summer, (3) Behind, the terraced sides of a mountain, abrupt, in places rising high, (4) Broken, with rocks, with clinging cedars, with tall shapes dingily seen, (5) The legion(predicate) camp-fires scatterd near and off the beaten track(predicate), some away up on the mountain, (6) The shadowy forms of men and horses, looming, large-sized, flickering (7) And over all the sky- the sky Far, far out of reach, studded, breaking out, the eternal stars