Beat! Beat! Drums! Flashcards
Themes.
- disruptive nature of war - the drums & bugles interrupting so many positive activities shows war’s harmful effect on society
- futility of war - it completely overshadows everything - even things that are essential to the smooth functioning of society
- satirical
Eldrid Herrington; interpretation of poem.
BBD “is often read simply as a rallying cry for war, but it is THEMATICALLY MORE COMPLEX.”
Kathy Rugoff; presentation of war through sound.
“While the first line is reinforced through similar sounds & the military music advances, the poet does not describe soldiers preparing for battle or in battle; instead, THE FEROCITY OF THE MUSIC OF WAR IS PORTRAYED AS OMNIPRESENT & OMNIPOTENT .”
Kathy Rugoff; sounds of war on the poem structure.
“War takes on a life of its own & overwhelms its creators. To describe its music creates A TENSION IN SYNTAX, SOUND & SEMANTICS. Whitman suggests the language of music & the characteristics of war break the bounds of order.”
Define apostrophe.
- directs reader’s attention to something other than the person who’s speaking
-they often begin with an exclamation - e.g. absent person, 3rd party, object, place, abstract idea
“Beat! beat! drums! - blow! bugles! blow!”
- the apostrophe addresses the instruments of a military band
- a rallying cry of sorts
- seems as if the point of the poem is to urge the instruments to alert the country to the beginning of war
- satirical
Alliteration of plosive /b/ sounds, repetition (epizeuxis & diacope), & caesuras.
Add a strong rhythmic pulse that mimics the sound of forceful drumbeats.
Stanza 1, Lines 1 - 4.
- intense sounds
- conveys the alarming disruption that comes with war
“Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation, // Into the school where the scholar is studying”
- war interrupts every corner of daily life
- has the power to break into even the most sacred places (the church) and send calm, devoted people into panic
- war turns peace & serenity to utter chaos/mayhem
“Leave not bridegroom quiet - no happiness must he have now with his bride”
- young men are expected to join the war effort, marching away from their lives & onto the battlefield
- not only will this ruin a groom’s sense of calm on his wedding day
- instead of consummating the marriage, he will have no “happiness” with his new bride
Overarching message of Stanza 1:
“Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,
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,
So fierce you whirr and pound you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.”
- people should not just go about their normal lives while a ruthless war takes shape
“No bargainers’ bargains”is an example of what technique?
- polyptoton
- prevent sellers from doing business
- no economic activity = a sign that the nation is regressing
“Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must sleep in those beds”
- repetition & polyptoton - repeating “beds” & a variation on the word “sleep”
- no aspects of daily life can continue like normal during wartime
- this includes necessities like “sleep”
“Over the traffic of cities - over the rumble of wheels in the streets”
- anaphora- gives the line a consistent, rhythmic sound
- idea that sounds of war drown out even the loudest noises of daily life
- war will even disrupt city life, which is usually its own kind of unstoppable force
Rhetorical questions in Stanza 2.
- invites readers to consider all the things that will grind to a halt during war
