My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree Toward heaven still,
This is romantic as the ladder that is sticking through the tree uses nature to connect with the divine. It also shows the beauty of nature in this line by connecting the tree and ladder by connecting it to Heaven which is romantic. The ladder sticking through the tree towards Heaven represents the journey to the afterlife which is romantic
Comrades mine and I in the midst, and their memory ever to keep, for the dead I loved so well, For the sweetest, wisest soul of all my days and lands—and this for his dear sake, Lilac and star and bird twined with the chant of my soul,
Here he shows how beautiful good memories are and how even though he lost people no one can take away those good memories
I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves, I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring.
The lilac that he loves making an appearance in this poem during this terrible battle represents that this pain will stop as Spring returns each year
And I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierc’d with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs, (and all in silence,) And the staffs all splinter’d and broken. I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them, I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought, They themselves were fully at rest, they suffer’d not, The living remain’d and suffer’d, the mother suffer’d, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer’d, And the armies that remain’d suffer’d.
Here he paints a depressing picture. The fact he said suffer'd many times shows how depressing this battle was. There is no beauty just suffering
Loud in the pines and cedars dim, Clear in the freshness moist and the swamp-perfume, And I with my comrades there in the night.
This shows how he enjoys the birds song as he paints a relaxing picture. Perhaps the bird reminds him that Spring is coming
Lo, the most excellent sun so calm and haughty, The violet and purple morn with just-felt breezes, The gentle soft-born measureless light, The miracle spreading bathing all, the fulfill’d noon, The coming eve delicious, the welcome night and the stars,
Here he describes the beauty and changes of the day and night
Pictures of growing spring and farms and homes, With the Fourth-month eve at sundown, and the gray smoke lucid and bright, With floods of the yellow gold of the gorgeous, indolent, sinking sun, burning, expanding the air, With the fresh sweet herbage under foot, and the pale green leaves of the trees prolific, In the distance the flowing glaze, the breast of the river, with a wind-dapple here and there, With ranging hills on the banks, with many a line against the sky, and shadows, And the city at hand with dwellings so dense, and stacks of chimneys, And all the scenes of life and the workshops, and the workmen homeward returning.
Here he describes the beauty of these places which represent how happy things were before this passing
Coffin that passes through lanes and streets, Through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land, With the pomp of the inloop’d flags with the cities draped in black, With the show of the States themselves as of crape-veil’d women standing, With processions long and winding and the flambeaus of the night, With the countless torches lit, with the silent sea of faces and the unbared heads, With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces, With dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn, With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour’d around the coffin, The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs—where amid these you journey, With the tolling tolling bells’ perpetual clang, Here, coffin that slowly passes, I give you my sprig of lilac.
Here he paints a very dark and depressing picture of the coffin. It is not as colorful as the other parts of this poem hinting that this makes him sad. The fact that he gives the lilac to the coffin represents maybe Spring ending as before he talked about how Spring and that flower always returning but now, he gives that flower to the coffin. Also, the fact he loves that flower, and it is dead makes this part even sadder to imagine.
Over the breast of the spring, the land, amid cities, Amid lanes and through old woods, where lately the violets peep’d from the ground, spotting the gray debris, Amid the grass in the fields each side of the lanes, passing the endless grass, Passing the yellow-spear’d wheat, every grain from its shroud in the dark-brown fields uprisen, Passing the apple-tree blows of white and pink in the orchards,
You can tell that Spring is a season he enjoys based on how beautifully he describes this area in this season. He describes it very colorfully which clues at the fact this season and place makes him happy.
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green, With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love, With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard, With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, A sprig with its flower I break.
Here Whitman is showing the beauty of this flower he loves in his writing. Not only does he describe how it looks but he describes the strong scent it smells of which romancizes it further.
O powerful western fallen star! O shades of night—O moody, tearful night! O great star disappear’d—O the black murk that hides the star!
Here it romantizes night. It shows the beauty of it's darkness and paints the dark and moody vibes of night.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring, Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west, And thought of him I love.
This is romanizing Spring and showing it's beauty. It also shows how Spring comes back and is something to look forward too.
The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air
This shows how quiet, depressing and sad the room is as it is just still. The fact she describes the stillness like air shows just quiet and empty the room is.
The Eyes around - had wrung them dry
This shows that people must have been crying showing how sad this room. The fact their eyes are dry shows they must have cried a lot making the room even sadder.
I could not see to see
The fact that this is the last thing says adds a depressing end to the poem. There is nothing for the reader to imagine but seeing nothing which is depressing
I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away What portion of me be Assignable
This is very depressing as this character sounds almost soulless as the character says what portion of me be assignable. It makes it sound like the character is an object which is depressing.