Come Up From The Fields, Father Analysis

COME up from the fields, father, here's a letter from our Pete;
And come to the front door, mother--here's a letter from thy dear
son.


Lo, 'tis autumn;
Lo, where the trees, deeper green, yellower and redder,
Cool and sweeten Ohio's villages, with leaves fluttering in the
moderate wind;
Where apples ripe in the orchards hang, and grapes on the trellis'd
vines;
(Smell you the smell of the grapes on the vines?
Smell you the buckwheat, where the bees were lately buzzing?)

Above all, lo, the sky, so calm, so transparent after the rain, and
with wondrous clouds;
Below, too, all calm, all vital and beautiful--and the farm prospers
well.10


Down in the fields all prospers well;
But now from the fields come, father--come at the daughter's call;
And come to the entry, mother--to the front door come, right away.

Fast as she can she hurries--something ominous--her steps trembling;
She does not tarry to smoothe her hair, nor adjust her cap.

Open the envelope quickly;
O this is not our son's writing, yet his name is sign'd;
O a strange hand writes for our dear son--O stricken mother's soul!
All swims before her eyes--flashes with black--she catches the main
words only;
Sentences broken--gun-shot wound in the breast, cavalry skirmish,
taken to hospital,20
At present low, but will soon be better.


Ah, now, the single figure to me,
Amid all teeming and wealthy Ohio, with all its cities and farms,
Sickly white in the face, and dull in the head, very faint,
By the jamb of a door leans.

Grieve not so, dear mother, (the just-grown daughter speaks through
her sobs;
The little sisters huddle around, speechless and dismay'd;)
See, dearest mother, the letter says Pete will soon be better.


Alas, poor boy, he will never be better, (nor may-be needs to be
better, that brave and simple soul;)
While they stand at home at the door, he is dead already;30
The only son is dead.

But the mother needs to be better;
She, with thin form, presently drest in black;
By day her meals untouch'd--then at night fitfully sleeping, often
waking,
In the midnight waking, weeping, longing with one deep longing,
O that she might withdraw unnoticed--silent from life, escape and
withdraw,
To follow, to seek, to be with her dear dead son.

.: :.

Whitman shows his feeling about war in a number of ways, he first explains about all the wonderful colours hecan see 'Lo where the tress, deeper green, yellower and redder'. He talks about the 'leaves fluttering in the moderate wind' and ' where apples ripe in the orchards hang'. This at first seems like a lovely autumn day and nothing is wrong, but then in the poem on the 3rd stanza (2nd line), he adds 'BUT', this changes everything in the poem as it goes from a lovely scene to a horrible dreary and dark scene. The rythym starts to get alot faster whereas before it was wuite a slow rhythm. Showing what war can do to the loved ones, 'All swims before her eyes, flashes of black, she catches the main words only', this scene is showing her reading the letter abd only reading a few words such as 'cavalry skirmish, taken to hospital, at present low, but will soon be better'. He expresses his feeling about war in saying how the mother reacts to this letter, 'Sickly white in the face and dull in the head, very faint, by the jamb of a door leans'. Whitman shows the distress of the mother and how the children try to comfort her showing role reversal, they try and make her feel better by saying, ' Grieve not so dear mother, See, dearest mother, the letter says Pete will soon be better'.All the sister's huddle round the mother to help her. Whitman then goes on to say' Alas, poor boy, he will never be better (nor maybe needs to be better, that brave and simple soul), while they stand at home at the door he is dead already, the only son is dead'. this stanza really catches you as you can imagine the family standing at the door thinking everything will be ok, but whitman know that there only son is dead and it draws your attention to what war can do too your family's. The last stanza shows the mother grieving over her dead son, 'But the mother needs to be better, she with thin form presently drest in black, by day her meals untouch'd, then at night , fitfully sleeping, often waking'.
This is how the mother is trying to cope but cant help but be so down and depressed almost.
Whitman is trying to show the break up with the family with the son not being there and the grief all this war has caused. The mother needs to be better, because she still has other children to look after, showing how hard it is for the family to cope with all the ups and the downs. Last few line he says, '0 that she might withdraw unnoticed, silent from life escape and withdraw, To follow, to seek, to be with her dear dead son'. whitman displays how the mother just wants to give up and go to be with her dear dead son and just want to join him in heaven. Whitman has showed this poem as if he was standing nearby and watching them while they recieve the letter and deal with the consequences of war. Whitman uses realistic imagery to show the tranquility of the farming area. He uses "deeper green, yellower and redder, ..leaves fluttering" to show the richness of autumn and to set you up for the fall, because it makes it more tragic when you learn that Pete has been injured. Whitman shows the father as the bread winner of the family and the mother as the emotional part of the faimly. He Also Show his feeling about war by getting you too imagine and feel the pain of the family suffering, '

| Posted on 2009-10-19 | by a guest

.: :.

Title of poem does not indicate the son will be mentioned. stanza 4:' so transparent after the rain' could mean the rain represents the emotions of his parents when they did not know where there son was. And it is transparent when they get the letter (they know when they recieve the letter).

| Posted on 2009-05-18 | by a guest

.: :.

Come Up From The Fields Father By Walt Whitman
Come Up From The Fields Father is a narrative poem about the effect of a single war injury on an Ohio family, It follows no proper rhyme scheme and has no repition.
The poet uses realistic imagery to show the tranquility of the farming area. He uses "deeper green, yellower and redder, cool and sweeten..leaves fluttering" to show the richness of autumn and to set you up for the fall, because it makes it more tragic when you learn that Pete has been injured.
Whitman uses Pathos very effectively "little, huddle, speechless, dismay'd" to amplify the emotion.
The mother seems to be taking it the worst "she with thin form presently dest in black..her meals untouch'd, then at night fitfully sleeping - often waking" she is mourning her son's death although he is not dead. "waking, weeping, longing with one deep longing"
The Mother becomes really depressed and suicidal towards the end
"O that she might withdraw unnoticed, silent from life escape and withdraw, to follow, to seek, to be with her dear dead son.

| Posted on 2009-05-10 | by a guest

.: :.

The richness of the autumn is contrasted with their loosing their son. The first part of the poem is lively, people are active, happy. There is a sudden twist, the poem turns into a tragic event.
Father is the breadwinner, the mother is the emotional centre of the family.

| Posted on 2009-01-26 | by a guest

.: Overview :.

This poem is trying to capture the sorrow of losing a family member in the Civil War. Whitman creates a picture of the negative atmosphere and makes the reader feel the pain of this family. This poem was well written and it gives the audience an idea of the what many families dealt with back during the Civil War.

| Posted on 2008-05-12 | by a guest

.: Overview :.

This poem is trying to capture the sorrow of losing a family member in the Civil War. Whitman creates a picture of the negative atmosphere and makes the reader feel the pain of this family. This poem was well written and it gives the audience an idea of the what many families dealt with back during the Civil War.

| Posted on 2008-05-12 | by a guest

.: Review :.

This poem epitomizes reactions of families to the loss of a loved one in the Civil War. The family, upon recieving the letter is sure that their son is dead. Every family would have known this. Whitman seems to properly connects the idea of family loss adn makes it a feeling of relation between the reader and the mother.


| Posted on 2005-05-23 | by Approved Guest