Lilacs Long Questions
1. Provide an outline of the events in the poem. 1) The poem follows the progress of Lincoln’s coffin on its way to the president’s burial. 2) It stays with the poet and his sprig of lilac, meant to be laid on the coffin in tribute, as he ruminates on death and mourning. 3) It uses symbols, like one of a bird and a star, to develop an idea of a nature sympathetic to, yet separate from humanity.
2. Discuss the significance of the lilac, star, and thrush. The lilac symbolizes his offering as being symbolically given to all the dead; at other moments he sees it as merely a broken twig. The star is significant because it symbolizes the bright star becoming dull and creating a world of darkness and confusion. The thrush is used to show that things once beautiful can be broken very easily.
3. Describe the imagery in the poem. It all expresses an understanding and a beauty that Whitman, even while he incorporates it into his poem, cannot quite master for himself. This poem shows a profound and permanent disconnection between the human and natural worlds. The imagery of the darkness and dimness are portrayed through every example of imagery given, it shows the disconnection between us, nature, and the world around us.
4. The traditional elegy moves from grief to consolation – how are grief and consolation represented in this poem? The progression of the coffin is followed by a sad irony. Mourners turn out in the streets to see Lincoln’s corpse pass by. The Civil War is raging, and many of these people have lost loved ones of their own, yet their losses are absorbed in a greater national tragedy, which is set up to be a far greater loss than that of their own family members. In this way the poem asks the question, “What is the worth of a man?”
5. Discuss nature’s cyclical renewal as exemplified in the poem. By the end much of the formalness has been stripped away; the poet offers only “lilac and star and bird twined with the chant of soul.” Eventually the poet simply
2. Discuss the significance of the lilac, star, and thrush. The lilac symbolizes his offering as being symbolically given to all the dead; at other moments he sees it as merely a broken twig. The star is significant because it symbolizes the bright star becoming dull and creating a world of darkness and confusion. The thrush is used to show that things once beautiful can be broken very easily.
3. Describe the imagery in the poem. It all expresses an understanding and a beauty that Whitman, even while he incorporates it into his poem, cannot quite master for himself. This poem shows a profound and permanent disconnection between the human and natural worlds. The imagery of the darkness and dimness are portrayed through every example of imagery given, it shows the disconnection between us, nature, and the world around us.
4. The traditional elegy moves from grief to consolation – how are grief and consolation represented in this poem? The progression of the coffin is followed by a sad irony. Mourners turn out in the streets to see Lincoln’s corpse pass by. The Civil War is raging, and many of these people have lost loved ones of their own, yet their losses are absorbed in a greater national tragedy, which is set up to be a far greater loss than that of their own family members. In this way the poem asks the question, “What is the worth of a man?”
5. Discuss nature’s cyclical renewal as exemplified in the poem. By the end much of the formalness has been stripped away; the poet offers only “lilac and star and bird twined with the chant of soul.” Eventually the poet simply