When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloom

 Walt Whitman's poem When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom definitely captured my attention. Whitman's words and phrases all sound so lovely, but initially I had no idea what was happening. However after rereading it and discussing it with m group, I was able to understand the content in a different way. 

  He states: 

WHEN lilacs last in the door-yard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d—and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
O ever-returning spring! trinity sure to me you bring;
Lilac blooming perennial, and drooping star in the west,	5
And thought of him I love.
After rereading the piece and discussing it with classmates, I was able to understand what Whitman was actually saying.  Whitman uses lilacs to symbolize the depth of the poem as he describes the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln. From the beginning he talks about how he is in a continuous state of sadness and mourning over the loss of the president.  The final part of the poem states how “the fragrant pines and the cedars dusk and dim.” The death-song of the bird expresses an understanding and a beauty that Whitman incorporates through symbolism.  “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” mourns for Lincoln in a way that is all the more profound for seeing the president’s death as only a smaller tragedy in the midst of a world of confusion and sadness. This poem beautifully captures themes such as death, mourning and respect. Although at first, it was difficult to understand, I came to find that this poem was very interesting to analyze and discuss.