When Lilacs last in the dooryard Bloomed

 This poem was published in 1865 ,is part of a series of pieces written after Lincoln’s assassination, under the section titled Drum- Taps in Leaves of Grass,’ When Lilacs last in the dooryard Bloomed. it is an elegy written upon the death of Abraham Lincoln though it never mentions the president by name. One of the major themes of Whitman’s poetry is death. This poem is thus not only an elegy of Lincoln’s death, but also reflection on death in general. It highlights the inevitability of death upon human beings, from an intense feeling of grief to the thought of reconciliation through various images and symbols. This poem is one of the finest poems that Whitman ever wrote, it is a dramatization of feeling of loss.

Walt Whitman gives a vivid description of the lilac -bush that stands in the dooryard fronting an old farmhouse of his. It is of tall growing flower plants which have heart-shaped leaves of rich green color. The boosh has many blossoms blooming on the plants. They are delicate and pointed and have the kind of fragrance the poet loves. The bush is so beautiful that every leaf of it seems a miracle. The poet is overwhelmed by its beauty so much so that he breaks a sprig with its flower. He intends to give this sprig of lilac to the coffin of the person he loves. He finds no other thing to give as a gift to his dead beloved person than this sprig of lilac. For the poet , it is the most lovable thing on the earth -this lilac bush , with tall-growing plants, leaves of rich green and pointed delicate blossoms blooming perennially in the dooryard of his farm house.

In this poem the poet gives a beautiful description of his own Manhattan’. He addresses his body and soul at the very beginning of his description, indicating his intense love  for his own place. The city of Manhattan stands with spires pointing towards the sky. The tides of the river flowing by its side are hurrying and sparkling with ships on it. The land is varied and ample, the south and the north are clear in the light., and Ohio’s shores and flashing Missouri are visible from a distance. The sun looks more excellent. It is calm and haughty. The mooring looks violet and purple with the gentle breeze. It looks like a miracle in nature. The coming evening is delicious, the night is welcomed with stars over the cities.

Abraham Lincoln was shot in Washington, D.C. by Booth on April 14, 1865, and died that following day. The body was sent by train from Washington to Springfield, Illinois. As it crossed the continent, it was saluted by people of America.

‘When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloomed’ is composed on three separate yet simultaneous poems. One follows the progress of Lincoln’s coffin on its way to the president’s burial. The second 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. The third uses the symbols of a bird and a star to develop an idea of a nature sympathetic to yet separate from humanity. The progression of the coffin is followed by a sad irony. Mourners, dressed in black and holding offerings of flowers, turn out in the streets to see Lincoln’s corpse pass by. The civil war is raging, though and many of these people have surely lost loved ones of their own.