Walt Whitman's Influence On Society

The era in which Walt Whitman lived heavily influenced his poetry. Witnessing the effects of a war spread throughout the country caused Whitman to write about his feelings. Whitman used the social standing of the country to express his messages in his works. Each of his poems sent a message to the people of his time and the people of today. Whitman’s poems were heavily influenced by the social and historical events happening in his life.
Walt Whitman wrote “O Captain! My Captain!” as a eulogy to Abraham Lincoln and a message to the American people. Whitman used this poem to speak to the broken America. This united people by using their emotions. The social standing of the country was in shambles, so Whitman used “O Captain! My Captain!” to show the people what the war had done to everyone. Even with their president dead some people are still cheering to win the civil war: Exult O shores, and ring O
It was typical for families to experience the death of a loved one during the war. Whitman used “Come up from the Fields Father” to express his distaste for the war. Whitman believed the amount of death war caused would continue to grow the longer the war was allowed to fester. In the poem, Whitman shows death spreading even to those not on the battlefield: “To follow, to seek, to be with her dear dead son” (ln. 38). The poem is supposed to cause readers today to fear war. By showing the effects of war through his poetry, Whitman influences readers today to prevent conflict. Humans act out of fear, sadness, grief, etc.. Whitman evokes these feelings in today's readers, hoping to make them make good choices. Making the readers fear war, causes people to think about their actions before they commit them. In order to avoid unnecessary death, war must be avoided. To avoid war the people must get along. Whitman used “Come up from the Fields Father” as a message to future people how costly war