Analysis of Whitman's Bivouac on the MountainsideFirst published after the end of the Civil War in 1865, Walt Whitman's poem “Bivouac on the Mountainside mountain” depicts much more than the tangible image of a transcendentalist vision. The mood of the poem reflects the author's observations and views of the Civil War while stationed in Washington and Virginia, as well as his beliefs about war through the use of imagery and symbolism. The use of images in “Bivouac on the Mountainside” is one. compelling factors that draw the reader into the poem so that they no longer read what Whitman writes, but rather see what he describes and understand Whitman's place in the war. Different from Whitman's other poems, "Bivouac on the Mountainside" does not contain the title phrase anywhere in the body of the poem, but rather sets the stage for the scene described. Whitman's use of imagery in "Bivouac on the Mountainside" forms the basis of symbolic representation in the poem. In the first line of the poem, “I now see before me a traveling army that stops,” begins the description of a troop he is observing. Beginning with the second line of the poem, Whitman attaches meaning to each of the elements of the poem. “A fertile valley extending, with barns and summer orchards” symbolizes the peaceful calm of a country that has not been torn by war. In a sense, the second line is used to represent a pure America. However, behind this are "the terraced sides of a mountain, steep, in places rising high, broken by rocks, with clinging cedars and with tall shapes difficult to see" (lines 3 and 4). The description of this grandiose and almost menacing mountain, unlike the valley...... middle of paper ...... but first-hand observations of the war taking place around it. Looking deeper into the poem, the reader can understand Whitman's view of the soldiers during the war: their fear, their enthusiasm, and their hope. and the summer orchards, (3) Behind, the terraced sides of a mountain, steep, in places rising high, (4) Broken, with rocks, with clinging cedars, with tall shapes eerily visible , (5) The many camps of the fires scattered near and far, some far away on the mountain, (6) The dark forms of men and horses, looming, tall, flickering (7) And on the whole sky – the sky! Far, far out of reach, studded, shining, the eternal stars