Analysis of poem interpretation and literary techniques

¶ … Walt Whitman grew to fame in America for writing poems that were as long and as sprawling as his very strides throughout the wide walks of the country itself. In this respect, his poem "A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Grey and Dim" is very much different. It is certainly one of the poet's shorter works, and is not as ambitious as others he has written. And although the poem is set in a natural environment in the woods (which is a characteristic of many of the author's poems), its theme is not nearly as triumphant and as supportive of the country which his works were known to champion. An analysis of the language in this poem reveals that Whitman carefully constructs elements of alliteration, anaphora and figurative language to express a dismay in America and in the form of religion that principally represented the country.

This particular poem of Whitman's is rife with alliteration. Readers encounter the repetition of syllables and sounds in both stanzas, as well as in crucial places in the work of literature. For instances, the poem begins with the narrator awaking early and encountering a series of injured people. All of the imagery in the poem is dark and malevolent, the morning is clouded over and the narrator himself has gotten little sleep. It is important to notice the repetition of the "s" sound throughout the duration of the first stanza when the poet is initially describing these events. He describes his walking away from the tent he camped at as "so early sleepless / As slow" (Whitman YOU HAVE THE PAGE NUMBERS, I DON'T). This usage of alliteration contributes to the theme of the poem in two ways. The literal sound of the repetition of four's sounds actually produces a sound of someone or something slowly moving in the woods. This tempo is important because it underscores the dark and dreary nature of the poem, as the narrator himself is not excited and seemingly dulled by the torpor of the events he will soon encounter. More importantly, the's sound is one that the snake makes when encountered. The serpent is highly symbolic of evil in conventional Westernized Christianity that America predominantly embraces. Thus, on both the literal and the figurative level Whitman is alluding to the fact that there is something wrong with the country and the religion that represents it within this work.

Another aesthetic element that Whitman utilizes to convey this theme is anaphora, which is the repetition of words or phrases to convey a certain point. Both stanzas are filled with anaphora; in the first the author repeats the word "lying" and "blanket" (Whitman) to emphasize the fact that there are people who have incurred some sort of disaster, and are therefore swathed in covers to hide their despair and their wounds. However, the most eminent utilization of anaphora occurs in the poem's second and last stanza. Whitman uses the phrase "Who are you" (Whitman) four times as the narrator journeys between the blanketed individuals. The author employs this literary device to emphasize the fact that he is completely oblivious to who these individuals are. As such, the reader can consider them emblematic of the residents of the country in general. The first victim is an elderly man, the second is a young boy. This disparity in age is highly important, because it symbolizes all the citizens of the country from children to adults. Also, the repetition of this simple question reinforces the notion that these people could actually be anyone in America, since the author does not know them. This notion, coupled with the fact that these people have been victimized -- more than likely during the time in which the Civil War occurred since Whitman lived through it and was profoundly affected by its outbreak -- is used by the author to demonstrate the theme of the poem, that America and its citizens are hurting.