Drum-Taps

Drum-Taps is a collection of poems written by Walt Whitman, primarily focused on his experiences and observations during the American Civil War. Published in 1865, it offers a raw and often unflinching portrayal of the war's impact on individuals and the nation.

The collection deviates from the generally optimistic and celebratory tone of Whitman's earlier work, Leaves of Grass. Drum-Taps presents a more somber and realistic depiction of warfare, focusing on the wounded, the dying, and the psychological toll the conflict took on soldiers and civilians. While still infused with Whitman's characteristic democratic spirit and empathy, the poems in Drum-Taps grapple with themes of death, loss, and the fragility of human life in the face of large-scale conflict.

Key poems within Drum-Taps include "Beat! Beat! Drums!", a call to arms, and "The Wound-Dresser," which offers a compassionate glimpse into the daily life of a battlefield nurse. The collection also contains elegies for fallen leaders, most notably "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," written in response to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

The initial 1865 edition of Drum-Taps was self-published and contained 53 poems. Later editions of Leaves of Grass incorporated Drum-Taps along with a cluster of related poems known as "Sequel to Drum-Taps," further solidifying the Civil War poems' place within Whitman's larger poetic project.