Flannery By Walt Whitman Summary

In this poem Walt Whitman is blatantly discussing and describing men going into war. The title of this poem is different to me; instead of writing a group of men he describes a “line in a long array”. He is describing a Calvary unit by saying “a line in a long array” winding its “serpentine course” between two “green islands”. These Green Islands are trying to create a picture that the soldiers in the Calvary are one of nature and not just part of a raging war. These men are individuals and have their own personalities than just being another soldier in another war. These men might be bonded by one line but Whitman makes sure to include their faces are of their own. The soldier’s weapons are shining in the sun and the soldiers appear from

The “brown faced men” are depicted by Whitman as “each person a picture” this to me tells that each person has their own expression and facial expressions of the war at the time. The brown faced men could also have suggested that the Calvary have experienced a long travel and they are covered in filth and dirt. He to me is sketching these soldiers by showing or describing them from many points of view. The poet challenges you to picture each face and individualize each man by calling the group of men a “Calvary”. In my opinion the poet is also sketching this poem like he is across the river or watching the Calvary from afar. He than focuses his writing on each man’s face and close enough to see the flags flying “gaily in the wind”. Whitman is describing two pictures in these seven lines of poetry. The first picture he draws through the poem is the Calvary unit winding or exploring its way down the river. In the second picture, he is painting a picture of the men coming out from the river. This to me shows how he shows each solider as his own individual instead of just saying the whole entire Calvary. Walt Whitman paints a picture to me of a war scene with men being sent to war, he gives these elements details and puts a picture in your head. The tone or emotion of the poem is his response to the