Question

What is the mood of these lines from the poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" by Walt Whitman?

"Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying,
Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride,
Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain"

Answer 1

I would say the mood is "ambivalent".

Answer 2

The last sentences suggest cold facts without adding personal emotions.

Answer 3

Deliberate use of fragment sentences for the first two lines shows intended rhythm and exploratory tone of voice.

Answer 4

Slightly interwoven with joy perhaps.

Answer 5

The extract has a critical undercurrent and thus the thematic conclusion is that war disrupts all. 'Drastic measures need to be taken at times.

This is a concise analysis.
‘The choice between what is right and what is wrong is never simple, and the difficulties that must be faced are often beyond the scope of the imagination. "Beat! beat! drums!- Blow! bugles! blow!" by Walt Whitman is a poem that endorses action, and is a call to arms in the face of a cold bitter truth: there is a war, and it affects everyone, of all social standing. Whitman uses vivid imagery throughout this piece to illustrate clearly that there is a need for all those who are able to do so, cease all other, less important actions and take up the cause.'

Also - 'The most striking element of "Beat! Beat! Drums!" is its rhythm, demonstrating that free verse, when done well, carefully crafts its rhythm to imitate the sounds of life. In this instance, Whitman imitates the orderly beat of a drum and the rhythmic cadence of an army on the march. It is a difficult task, indeed, to read this poem and not picture a neatly dressed military outfit, drummers and buglers in front, on their way to create chaos. Speaking of chaos and order, the poem's form and content contain these contrasting features. Much like an orderly army is more capable of inflicting disorder and destruction, so is a carefully crafted rhythm essential to the effectiveness of free verse. There is a reason Whitman is considered the father of free verse. Whitman champions freedom in his poetry and there's a lot to be learned from the structure of this poem regarding freedom.

It's clear Whitman understands the tenets of traditional poetry. He has a firm grasp on rhythm and meter, yet chooses not to write as others did. Whitman could have written in any form he chose. Freedom is only present when there's a choice. Choice is only present when there is knowledge. The alliteration of the b sound and the repetition of "Beat! beat! drums!--blow! bugles! blow!" imitate the sound of an army on the march and does so forcefully. The opening line of the poem, repeated thrice, overtakes the reader, much in the same way war overtakes "peaceful farmers," "bargainers," "lawyers" and others. Whitman uses paradox to emphasize the chaos of war: "No sleepers must sleep" (10), "No bargainers' bargain" (11), no talkers are talking, no lawyers "rise in the court to state his case before the judge" (13). In short, war creates chaos and upsets the natural order of things. Whitman uses metonymy: the beating of drums and the blowing of bugles represents something with which it is closely associated, a marching army. He also uses synecdoche, the marching army represents military forces engaged in war; the individuals lawyers, farmers, etc. represent citizens whose lives are disrupted by war.'