# data[].attributes.headline
A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown: 

# data[].attributes.subject
A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown: 

# data[].attributes.body
A march in the ranks hard-prest, and the road unknown,
A route through a heavy wood with muffled steps in the darkness,
Our army foil'd with loss severe, and the sullen remnant retreating,
Till after midnight glimmer upon us the lights of a dim-lighted building,
We come to an open space in the woods, and halt by the dim-lighted building,
'Tis a large old church at the crossing roads, now an impromptu hospital,
Entering but for a minute I see a sight beyond all the pictures and
poems ever made,
Shadows of deepest, deepest black, just lit by moving candles and lamps,
And by one great pitchy torch stationary with wild red flame and
clouds of smoke,
By these, crowds, groups of forms vaguely I see on the floor, some
in the pews laid down,
At my feet more distinctly a soldier, a mere lad, in danger of
bleeding to death, (he is shot in the abdomen,)
I stanch the blood temporarily, (the youngster's face is white as a lily,)
Then before I depart I sweep my eyes o'er the scene fain to absorb it all,
Faces, varieties, postures beyond description, most in obscurity,
some of them dead,
Surgeons operating, attendants holding lights, the smell of ether,
odor of blood,
The crowd, O the crowd of the bloody forms, the yard outside also fill'd,
Some on the bare ground, some on planks or stretchers, some in the
death-spasm sweating,
An occasional scream or cry, the doctor's shouted orders or calls,
The glisten of the little steel instruments catching the glint of
the torches,
These I resume as I chant, I see again the forms, I smell the odor,
Then hear outside the orders given, Fall in, my men, fall in;
But first I bend to the dying lad, his eyes open, a half-smile gives he me,
Then the eyes close, calmly close, and I speed forth to the darkness,
Resuming, marching, ever in darkness marching, on in the ranks,
The unknown road still marching.

# data[].attributes.body
Although a bit gory, this puddle of blood not only seems to me like what Whitman would be seeing, but is also a symbol for this poem. For many years society has used the color red, found in fire or blood, to symbolize such powerful topics such as love and passion. This poem is about how we all march on. With love and passion for whatever we are going through, in this poem it happens to be war.

# data[].attributes.body
I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air -

Between the Heaves of Storm -

The Eyes around - had wrung them dry -

And Breaths were gathering firm

For that last Onset - when the King

Be witnessed - in the Room -

I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable - and then it was

There interposed a Fly -

With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz -

Between the light - and me -

And then the Windows failed - and then

I could not see to see -

# data[].attributes.body
Dickinson's poem I Heard a Fly Buzz - When I Died, is about a person describing their death. Within line one we see they are describing their own death because they say "When I Died."  They tell of their death as a mournful sad occasion. Within the poem the speaker is okay and accepting death when all the sudden they hear an annoying little fly buzz past interrupting everything. This fly could be a normal everyday fly or maybe it is a nagging thought that possibly they are not ready for death because they realize the reality of it. Maybe they want to stay in the world and keep living. I believe that Dickinson is trying to portray what death is really like. You may be ready for death but you may also have doubts that pop up when they are not wanted.

# data[].attributes.body
One literary element used in Dickinson's poem is the use of tone. Dickinson uses tone to set the mood of the poem. Within the poem the speaker's voice is extremely calm and almost flat. It creates a feel that the atmosphere is heavy almost like it's filled with stuffy stale water, thick all around every thought and action. The speaker shows that death is a natural part of life through the calmness in their voice. If it wasn't they may be very agitated and we would know by the punctuation used. The second literary element used is imagery. the words that Dickinson uses to describe the feeling in the room make me feel as though I am just as sad as the mourners in the poem. I can feel the heaviness in the room when she says, " The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air -Between the Heaves of Storm." ( Lines 2-4) Reading this poem I feel as though I am there myself.

# data[].attributes.body
Whitman's poem A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown is about the horrors Whitman witnessed in a make shift hospital during the Civil War. He goes in depth specifically with one injured boy who remains unnamed. In the end of the poem it is clear the high level of respect Whitman held for this boy and all the others who gave up their lives or were willing to for our freedom. In the final lines of the poem this is clear as Whitman writes, "Resuming, marching, ever in darkness marching, on in the ranks, The unknown road still marching" (31-33). Here he is talking about how the soldier now marches on, but this time into a different battle. What will he find now? Perhaps a world that is happier and safer than the one he departed from.

# data[].attributes.body
A major literary element used in this poem was Whitman's imagery. The way he describes the hospital scene with the injured and sick was amazing. I felt as though I could smell the blood he described. This imagery impacts the meaning by really helping the audience create a picture in their mind of what these soldiers were going through. Without this we would not be able to sympathise with them.
A second literary element is symbolism. I believe that it was Whitman's intention to have the struggle of the Civil War and the wounded men symbolize all of us as we go for life. We all keep marching though life and the wounded men symbolize this. This symbolism impacts the poem because it helps us find the meaning and how it can help us.

# data[].attributes.body
If you read the poem is clear that Whitman has major respect for those willing to lay down their lives for the well being of their country and is quite that nationalist. Although the boy in the poem was not able to march on in the literal sense, he marched on to a new and better life. We can take all this to heart, well, maybe without the dying part. We can march through our problems and find strength in Whitman's sad, yet optimistic poem.

# data[].attributes.body
I believe that Dickinson is trying to portray the story of death. She is saying that even when we are ready to die and to leave everything behind we still have to deal with with the doubts. The fly, the reality of death, it make us doubt whether we actually want to go or not. Although, with death we don't have a say in that decision.

# data[].attributes.body
Although it's cliche, the fly is the most important image within the poem. It's  a symbol of the reality of death. Interestingly a fly can be a spirit animal and it symbolizes quick and abrupt changes in your thoughts and emotions. Rapid changes in all aspects of your life are currently happening so be prepared for them even if they are the worst thing imaginable.  This sounds an awful lot like the abrupt death within the poem.