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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 Death chasing

it up and down the storm;

How he knuckled tight, and gave not back one

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:

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How he follow’d with them, and tack’d with them

—

and would not give it

up

;

How he saved the drifting company at last:

How the 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;

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I am the man

—

I suffer’d

—

I was there.

The disdain and calmness of

olden

martyrs;

The mother, 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;

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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;

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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.

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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.

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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;

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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;

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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;

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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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One of the figures of speech that is used in this poem is simile. The simile is revealed in line 14 "The twinges that sting like needles in his legs and neck," this simile is used to describe how the sudden pain in his legs and neck it feels like. In which it felt like a needle being stabbed inside.

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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 poem is there are many heroes who make sacrifices by going through lots of trauma to help people who need help in dangerous situations. Proving that everyone is a hero in their own kind of way. Along with them they always suffer. In these different type of vivid imagery that describes the situations that each one faces, while also describing himself as a participation in these situations.

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3. What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

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3. What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

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Whitman uses imagery in each of the scenarios in order to help readers visualize the tragic stories of each hero. Starting from the fourth stanza, the story of a slave uses imagery to demonstrate what they had felt when they went through their abusive lifestyle. Whitman writes, "I clutch the rails of the fence, my gore dribs, thinn'd with the ooze of my skin" (17). Throughout the poem, negative phrases and words often appear. These phrases add to how these people of different ages, occupations, and races have sacrificed their lives for different reasons.

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8. How important is the contribution of form, such as rhyme scheme and line arrangement? How does form influence the overall effect of the poem?

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8. How important is the contribution of form, such as rhyme scheme and line arrangement? How does form influence the overall effect of the poem?

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The story line and line arrangement of the stanzas are formatted in a story like way. As the poem progresses, different stories of different types of heroes appear as we read about why Whitman views them as a hero. Whitman starts each "short story" off with who the hero is, such as, "I am the hounded slave, I wince at the bite of the dogs" (16) and "I am the mash'd fireman with breast-bone broken" (26). Throughout their stories he writes about what they've done to be considered a hero. This influences the overall effect of the poem because we can see multiple different types of people with different stories, not just typical white or rich people.

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Whitman's biological connection to this poem is brotherhood. Whitman grew up to be someone who has always been optimistic and curious about how others lived, no matter their race or wealth. In this poem, he writes about heroes who have different races and jobs which connect to his true interests and personality.