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A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim

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A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim

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1. What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone?

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1. What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone?

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In the poem, "A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim," by Walt Whitman, the tone can be depicted as sorrowful. Words that contribute to this type of tone are grim, gaunt, and dim. In the poem, the speaker describes the “elderly man [as] so gaunt and grim … flesh all sunken about the eyes." The speaker uses words such as gaunt and grim to pity the soldier's state and the fact of being drafted to war despite his old age, which then results in a dreadful tone.

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

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

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In the poem, Whitman employs a metaphor, in which he compares the blush in the young child’s cheeks to flowers. In line 14, it states “...you sweet boy with cheeks yet blooming,” which contributes to the meaning of the poem because he emphasizes on the innocent, youthful child who sacrificed himself for the greater good. Moving on, another figure of speech used within the poem was a simile, in which Whitman describes the young man’s face, “a face nor child nor old…as of beautiful yellow-white ivory.” Whitman comments on the man’s pure and clean nature of his face, which is why he compares it to ivory because of its pristine nature. This contributes to the meaning of the poem since it also underlines the innocence of the soldier before he tragically dies in the war.

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 6. What is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence? Elaborate on your idea.

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 6. What is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence? Elaborate on your idea.

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The theme of this Walt Whitman poem  is about the tragedies and endlessness of war. This is reinforced upon when the speaker describes a fallen soldier he encounters as “dead and divine and brother of all, and here again he lies.” This last phrase is particularly noteworthy, as it depicts an endless cycle of war, in which all the atrocities committed start all over again. Moreover, the slain soldier’s face is neither “child nor old”, signifying the eternal qualities of war and how it cares not for the ages of its participants. In essence, the poem explores the tragedies and perpetual nature of war.

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 5. 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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 5. 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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One essential symbol in this poem is the allusion to the story of Christ. Through describing the soldiers as having the “face of Christ himself”, Whitman is conveying the similarities between the two. Both are innocent, youthful, come from humble beginnings, and are sacrificed for a greater cause. This is tantamount to the context of the poem, as the soldiers are sacrificed in order for a united America to come out of the war.