A poem written during the American Civil War

After All

William Winter

The apples are ripe in the orchard,

The work of the reaper is done,

And the golden woodland redden

In the blood of the dying sun.

:

At the cottage door the grandsire

Sits pale in his easy-chair,

While the gentle wind of twilight

Plays with his silver hair.
~

A woman beside him;

A fair young head is pressed,

In the first wild passion of sorrow,

Against his aged breast.

~

And far from over the distance

The faltering echoes come

Of the flying blast of the trumpet

And the rattling roll of the drum.

~

And the grandsire speaks in a whisper;

"The end no man can see;

But we give him to his country,

And we give our prayers to Thee."

~

The violets star the meadows

The rose-buds fringe the door,

Over the grassy orchard

The pink-white blossoms pour.

~

But the grandsire's chair is empty,

The cottage is dark and still;

There's a nameless grave in the battle-field,

And a new one under the hill.

~

And a pallid, tearless woman

By the cold hearth sits alone;

And the old clock in the corner

Ticks on with a steady drone.

Subject Matter:

This poem is about an old man who went to battle during the American Civil War and never came back. When, presumably his daughter, found out that he is dead, she became very depressed.

Purpose/Theme:

The poem illustrates the preparation of army on both sides, the Union and the Confederate. This illustration was done by picturing the army as an orchard, and the soldiers as the apples. The poet wrote of the apples being ripe which was to show they are prepared for battle and the individual states as the reaper. Throughout the entire poem, the poet used calm and beautiful terms to show the contrast of chaos and sadness with serenity and beauty.

Emotion/Mood:

The poem appears very calm at a brief glance, but as you read on, you will come to discover the tragedy of the poem. Despite describing the orchard in the first stanza as a very beautiful one by using terms like “golden woodland”, created an omen to show that there would be something bad happening. The phrase “blood of the dying sun” shows it. If you look at this phrase just on its surface, it might just appear like a descriptive phrase. But upon closer look, you can sense the omen in it.

The poet uses contrast to show the sadness. This falls under craftsmanship but yet, it creates the mood.

Craftsmanship/Technique:

The poet was also good in writing a stanza that would link to the next and hence creates a mood for the following stanza. In the fourth stanza, the poet wrote about drums and trumpets which symbolises the starting of the war and calling of all the soldiers. Carrying on to the fifth stanza, the poet talked about the old man leaving for army. This phrase “The end no man can see;But we give him to his country” shows it. The old man was willing to sacrifice. This also brings out the tragic mood of the poem.

Another example is the sixth stanza, when the poet used very beautiful terms to describe the surroundings but finally, it boiled down to the long absence of the old man which shows his death.

The poem actually moves on in a chronological order, starting from the preparation of the army, the calling of soldiers to battle and finally the death and moaning of the old man. This gives readers a very clear illustration of the situation then. The poet also described the sound in the poem through the old clock that goes “tick”. This creates a very sad tone at the last stanza during the moaning, where the clock “Ticks on with a steady drone.” It shows the reality of life and that no one cares about the death. The poet used the word “drone” to shows and emphasise on it.

Summary:

The structure and use of language in the poem creates a very solemn and contrasting tone switching from beautiful to sad almost instantly. By doing this, it really brings out the sorrow in the people and tells us a lot about the American Civil War.

Tan Yong Yao (2p3-26)