I’m really interested in the Walt Whitman who nursed the wounded and played a role in the Civil War. “Wound-Dresser” Whitman is particularly interesting for multiple reasons. The dynamism of gentleness that is a part of his poetry and prose about the Civil War is extremely intriguing. In excerpts of “Specimen Days” Whitman delivers ice cream to soldiers and helps them write letters home. However, Whitman seems to sing a slightly different tune in his poetry from “Drum Taps” which seems to have a more rambunctious tone of pride and unity for America while also showing the horrors of war. This contrast is extremely interesting especially when taking into consideration the large impact that the Civil War had on Whitman’s life and writing. While I’m not exactly sure what I would like the main argument of my final project to be, I am sure that it will center on these works.
To be able to begin to build my research I will dive head first into the poetry of “Drum Taps” and the prose of “Specimen Days” obviously parsing out which ones I think will be most pertinent to my growing argument. To start my outside research, I would like to examine the basic history of Whitman’s involvement in the Civil War from sources other than Whitman himself. Looking at letters that Whitman wrote could also be enlightening. I think it could be interesting to see how other writers of the time period are responding to the civil war. Of course, recent scholarly articles about Whitman and the Civil War will help shape my own research.
I image that my final project will take the form of a traditional research paper. However, I think it is very likely that I will use images taken during the Civil War to emphasis the historical aspects. A possible example of one of these images posted below of a Civil War hospital.
We talked about ways to make this project more inclusive not just of Whitman, but his influence in later time periods and other authors: the course has had that more projective impulse running throughout. Good luck as you consider possible comparison points. You can focus on broader questions–for example Whitman and the idea of war / response to war. The project doesn’t necessarily have to involve literary influence. It’s just important to note the ways in which Whitman impacts and helps us think through things in the present and across the past century. It’s important that the project have that sense of Whitman still speaking to us rather than taking him in a purely historical contexts. Good luck as you consider options for this project!