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I Understand the Large Hearts of Heroes by Walt Whitman

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I Understand the Large Hearts of Heroes by Walt Whitman

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I understand the large hearts of heroes,
The courage of present times and all times,
How the skipper saw the crowded and rudderless wreck of the
steam-ship, and the Death chasing it up and down the storm,
How he knuckled tight and gave not back an inch, and was faithful
of days and faithful of nights,

And chalk'd in large letters on a board, Be of good cheer,
we will not desert you;
How he follow'd with them and tack'd with them three days and
would not give it up,
How he saved the drifting company at last,
How he lank loose-gown'd women look'd when boated from the
side of their prepared graves,
How the silent old-faced infants and the lifted sick, and the sharp-
lipp'd unshaved men;
All this I swallow, it tastes good, I like it well, it becomes mine,
I am the man, I suffer'd, I was there.

The disdain and calmness of martyrs,
The mother of old, condemn'd for a witch, burnt with dry wood,
her children gazing on,
The hounded slave that flags in the race, leans by the fence,
blowing, cover'd with sweat,
The twinges that sting like needles his legs and neck, the
murderous buckshot and the bullets,
All these I feel or am.

I am the hounded slave, I wince at the bite of the dogs,
Hell and despair are upon me, crack and again crack the
marksmen,
I clutch the rails of the fence, my gore dribs, thinn'd with the
ooze of my skin,
I fall on the weeds and stones,
The riders spur their unwilling horses, haul close,
Taunt my dizzy ears and beat me violently over the head with whip-stocks.

Agonies are one of my changes of garments,
I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the
wounded person,
my hurts turn livid upon me as I lean on a cane and observe.

I am the mash'd fireman with breast-bone broken,
Tumbling walls buried me in their debris,
Heat and smoke I inspired, I heard the yelling shouts of my comrades,
I heard the distant click of their picks and shovels,
They have clear'd the beams away, they tenderly lift me forth.

I lie in the night air in my red shirt, the pervading hush is for my sake,
Painless after all I lie exhausted but not so unhappy ,
White and beautiful are the faces around me, the heads are bared
of their fire-caps,
The kneeling crowd fades with the light of the torches.

Distant and dead resuscitate,
They show as the dial or move as the hands of me, I am the clock myself.

I am an old artillerist, I tell of my fort's bombardment,
I am there again.

Again the long roll of the drummers,
Again the attacking cannon, mortars,
Again to my listening ears the cannon responsive.

I take part, I see and hear the whole,
The cries, curses, roar, the plaudits for well aim'd shots,
The ambulanza slowly passing trailing its red drip,
Workmen searching after damages, making indispensable repairs,
The fall of grenades through the rent roof, the fan-shaped
explosion,
The whizz of limbs, heads, stone, wood, iron, high in the air.

Again gurgles the mouth of my dying general, he furiously waves
with his hand,
He gasps through the clot Mind not me- mind- the entrenchments.

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What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem ironic?

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What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem ironic?

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Tone refers to an author’s use of words and writing style to convey his or her attitude towards a topic. The poem's tone is somber or sorrowful. Walt Whitman states, "my hurts turn livid upon me as I lean on a cane and observe" (line 25). The author also uses words like "broken," "agonies," "exhausted," "distant and dead," "hell and despair," etc. These words convey the tone and allow the poem to flow, and put emphasis on the somberness. Then again, it is evident that Whitman holds admiration and respect for the said heroes/soldiers within the poem.

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what is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? What do they mean?

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what is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? What do they mean?

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The theme or central idea in literature is the message or lesson that author is trying to convey in their work. Sometimes authors incorporate multiple themes or central ideas into their literary works and sometimes there is only one. This poem however, had one prominent theme which was first shown in the very first line of the poem but carried out throughout the rest of the poem which is unity. The theme of unity is portrayed in the very first line as it begins with " I understand the large hearts of heroes, the courage of present times and all times" (line 1). These two lines in the very beginning of the poem open off the poem with the theme of unity by bringing together the different heroes by signifying that they have large hearts and how those who fight in wars are not the only heroes and there are many unseen heroes that don't get as much recognition but doesn't take away from their courage and bravery regardless.

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Imagery is a commonly used literary device that refers to the use of vivid word choice and distinct language in order to display a vivid image for readers or the audience to picture. This literary device is used throughout the poem for the audience to picture a more distinct image in their mind as the poem carries on. "The hounded slave that flags in the race, leans by the fence, blowing, cover'd with sweat, the twinges that sting like needles his legs and neck, the murderous buckshot and the bullets," (line 15) is an example of Whitman's distinct use of imagery which portrays the intensity of this particular scene by using words of description through the lines such as "sting like needles" and "the murderous buckshot" to contribute to the image being illustrated.

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What words have unusual or special meanings? Which words do you need to look up?

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What words have unusual or special meanings? Which words do you need to look up?

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One word from the poem, "I understand the large hearts of heroes" by Walt Whitman, is "resuscitate". The word resuscitate describes the resurrection of something or someone from unconsciousness or death which occurs in the poem. In the specific scene, Whitman writes, "The kneeling crowd fades with the light of the torches. Distant and dead resuscitate" (34-35). This specific word adds onto the tone of suspense and despair portraying all the lives taken in battles of fires, with bloodshed and agony. So many firefighters lose their lives fighting large fires and doing deeds like this brings out the "hero" in them, rounding back to the main idea of the poem.

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What figures of speech are used? How do they contribute to the tone and meaning of the poem? 

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What figures of speech are used? How do they contribute to the tone and meaning of the poem? 

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Repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, and metaphors are all used within the poem. Repetition is seen with Whitman's continuous use of the word, "again," in lines 39-41. Alliteration is utilized in lines 26-27, "I mash'd the fireman with breast-bone broken, tumbling walls buried me in their debris." In this quote, the consonant "b" is repeated throughout. In line 48, the literary device of onomatopoeia is shown as Whitman writes, "Again gurgles the mouth of my dying general." Gurgles is an example of onomatopoeia, evoking the actual sound of the thing it refers to. Additionally, Death is personified with the author stating, "...and Death chasing it up and down the storm" (line 4). Death is displayed as chasing, which gives it human-like characteristics. Even further, the word "Death" itself is capitalized, evidently showing the use of personification. There are also many examples of metaphors throughout the poem. Examples can include, "They show as the dial or move as the hands of me, I am the clock myself" (line 36). These lines are comparing humanity (or the author) to a simple clock. In this metaphor, the hands on the clock are the heroes of the world and they stand out among everyone else. This connects to the main idea by showing that everybody and anybody can be a hero.

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Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem?

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Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem?

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The entire poem is based on people who've endured such pain and agony in their past and each character mentioned, the man, the hounded slave, etc., is a symbol themselves. Every single person is a symbol of all the different emotions felt during the tragedy of 1853 and they're all people who did heroic things without being noticed. The first person introduced partially in the first three stanzas is a representation of courage in many heroes who put their lives at risk for the benefits of others. During the treacherous waves of the ocean crashing onto the ship, Whitman writes, "How he follow'd with them and tack'd with them three days and would not give it up" (6-7). Just from this, the man has a lion-heart, he was willing to stick with all the people on the ship and carry them to safety. Eventually, they all safely survived after three long days and nights, all because of the courageous hero who cared for them. The next character, the hounded slave, represents agony of those that experienced suffering on another level, yet they still managed to change themselves. Whitman describes, "I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person" (23-24). This character is a slave that got whipped and all hell thrown onto them, allowing them to realize what it's like to be "wounded". As they reminisce, it all turns livid, it sort of disappears because it's just a memory now that has caused change for them. Both of these characters represent topics based on the poem that revolve around war and fighting, the days where all was war. There were heroes and those that suffered as well, each faced their own type of hurt.