Walt Whitman: "Beat! Beat! Drums!

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Summary
Each stanza in this poem begins with the command, "Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles!
blow!" The speaker commands the instruments to play so loudly that the sound bursts through
the windows and doors of various places. He imagines the sound filling the church, causing the
congregation to scatter, interrupting a scholar studying at school, disturbing a bride and groom
trying to get some privacy, and finally, the farmer who is hard at work in his field. He describes
the sound cutting through the loud traffic in large cities, keeping people awake, and drowning
out the sounds of shoppers, singers, and conversations, even disturbing a lawyer during trial. He
encourages the instruments to continue playing, despite any objections from people weeping or
praying, and to play so loud that they even "shake the dead."

Analysis:
This poem is made up of three stanzas with seven lines each. Whitman wrote "Beat!
Beat! Drums!" in free verse, like most of his poems. He does repeat the same line ("Beat! beat!
drums!—blow! bugles! blow!") at the beginning of every stanza, which gives it some order. The
rhythmic pulse of this line underlines the poem's content. The short, repeated syllables mimic the
sound of drums beating and bugles blowing. Only the final line of each stanza falls into a
specific meter; in this case, it's iambic heptameter, which adds to the pulsing, drum-like rhythm
of the poem.
Whitman wrote this poem at the beginning of the Civil War. Whitman uses the drums and
bugles as symbols of the war itself (during the wars of early American history, drums and bugles
would signal the beginning of each battle). In this poem, the speaker commands the instruments
to play so loudly that they disrupt everyone's lives, just like war changes a society. This was
especially true of the Civil War, as all the soldiers were American and all the battles took place
on American soil. The war dictated everything that happened during period of American history.
In this poem, Whitman does not let his reader escape the incessant drumbeat and trumpeting
bugles, just as there was no escaping the Civil War.
As is common throughout the poems in Leaves of Grass, Whitman uses lists in "Beat!
Beat! Drums!" Throughout the poem, the speaker lists the places he wants the music to reach
(the church, the school, the city full of traffic, the houses, the courtroom) and the people he
wants it to affect (brokers, singers, lawyers, farmers). Though he could have merely spoken
about one or two of these, the use of the list really drives home the major theme of this poem:
war affects everyone and everything. Whitman invokes the environment of war without once
mentioning soldiers. Instead, Whitman draws focus to those that history ignores - the everyday
Americans to whom many of his readers can relate.
Whitman employs onomatopoeia when he writes about these instruments, using words
like whirr, pound, and thump. He draws the reader into his world, so while we read about the
instruments playing, it is possible to hear them as well. It adds an additional experiential
dimension to the poem. The onomatopoetic diction becomes increasingly intense towards the end
of the poem, as if the sounds of war are getting louder as they grow closer and more dangerous.
The end of the poem is rather macabre because the speaker commands the music to be so loud
that it even wakes the dead. While the horns and bugles signal the beginning of the battle, and
the mention of the dead invokes images of war cemeteries with rows upon rows of graves - the
end result of the battles. Just as Whitman uses onomatopoeia to allow readers to hear the sounds
of war, he also makes the reading experience visual with these potent images of death.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Beat! Beat! Drums!”

Literary devices are used to connect readers with the text. Their use brings richness to the text
and makes the readers understand the hidden meanings. Walt Whitman has also made this poem
superb by using figurative language. Here is the analysis of some literary devices used in this
poem.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example,

the sound of /i/ in “ploughing his field or gathering his grain,” and the sound of /ee/ in
“Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!”
2. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some
verses. For example, “Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!” in all stanzas to show
his excitement and importance of music.
3. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick
succession. For example, the sound of /b/ in “No bargainers’ bargains by day—no
brokers or speculators” and the sound of /p/ in “Nor the peaceful farmer any peace,
ploughing his field or gathering his grain”.
4. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as
the sound of /l/ in “Then rattle quicker, heavier drums—you bugles wilder blow” and the
sound of /f/ in “Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets;”
5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses.
For example, “Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow”, “Then rattle quicker, heavier
drums—you bugles wilder blow” and “Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness
must he have now with his bride.”
6. Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked to receive an
answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. For example,

“No bargainers’ bargains by day—no brokers or speculators—would they continue?

Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?
Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?”

7. Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them

symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. Here beating of drums
symbolizes fear and sorrow.
8. Free Verse: Free Verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns
of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
9. Repetition: There is a repetition of the verse “Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles!
blow!”,“ which has created a musical quality in the poem.
10. Refrain: The lines that are repeated at some distance in the poems are called refrain. The
verse, “Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow” is repeated with the same words. It has
become a refrain.
11. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem,
with each comprises of eight verses.