As Toilsome I Wander'd Virginia's Woods

This is a poems written during the Civil War written by Walt Whitman. The general analysis of the poem is, Whitman is walking in a forest in Virginia and he comes across a grave of a fallen soldier (Whitman). The grave was quickly made and there was a sign that said, "Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade" (Whitman). Whitman or the guy walking in the woods can not get the message out of his head. The first two lines of the poem,"AS toilsome I wander'd Virginia's woods,
To the music of rustling leaves kick'd by my feet, (for 'twas autumn,)" (Whitman) are giving a setting for the reader. It is autumn and there are leaves being rustled on the ground where Whitman walks. Then, he comes across a grave that is underneath the tree. "Mortally wounded he and buried on the retreat, (easily all could I understand,)" (Whitman). That is what was on the grave of the soldier. Whitman could not read it very easily because it has probably been there awhile. He reads this also with the other note left of the grave kind of scares Whitman. It does because the true horrors of war shine even brighter. "The halt of a mid-day hour, when up! no time to lose—yet this sign left, On a tablet scrawl'd and nail'd on the tree by the grave, Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade." (Whitman). Here he is talking about the sign and is showing that he is actually putting thought behind the note left behind by other soldiers. "Long, long I muse, then on my way go wandering, Many a changeful season to follow, and many a scene of life,
Yet at times through changeful season and scene, abrupt, alone,or in the crowded street," (Whitman). These lines are showing the deepness of the thinking Whitman is putting in the sign about the soldier. "Yet at times through changeful season and scene, abrupt, alone,or in the crowded street, Comes before me the unknown soldier's grave, comes the inscription rude in Virginia's woods, Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade". (Whitman). That shows that he is still thinking about the inscription on the grave for even longer and it effects his life now.
There were many graves in the Woods in Virginia because of its placement during the war (Huff). This means that it would not by uncommon for Whitman to run into a grave of a fallen soldier. Whitman was a nurse in during the Civil War (Huff). So he was probably actually walking in the forest when he ran across the grave. The leaves that Whitman is kicking represent the falling of the soldier also (Huff). I can see that because the leaves have fallen from the tree and they are dead. The soldier had fallen in battle and he was gone from the world. Walt Whitman's poem "As Toilsome I Wander'd Virginia's Woods" is about Whitman thinking about his life and what he will leave behind if he is ever killed in the war.

Whitman, Walt. "AS ADAM EARLY IN THE MORNING. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

Huff, Randall. "'As Toilsome I Wander'd Virginia's Woods'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0034&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 3, 2011).