Bathed In War's Perfume Poem by Walt Whitman

Bathed In War's Perfume

Rating: 3.0


BATHED in war's perfume--delicate flag!
(Should the days needing armies, needing fleets, come again,)
O to hear you call the sailors and the soldiers! flag like a
beautiful woman!
O to hear the tramp, tramp, of a million answering men! O the ships
they arm with joy!
O to see you leap and beckon from the tall masts of ships!
O to see you peering down on the sailors on the decks!
Flag like the eyes of women.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Susan Williams 29 February 2016

The Call to War seems to be an aphrodisiac to some men... probably young men who want to prove their bravery on a battlefield that they are sure they will march away from at the end of the day because youth think life immortal- Whitman you speak truth

24 0 Reply
Paul Matteo 15 December 2005

The poem is talking about how a flag is beckoning men to ships before a war. It also seems that the flag is compared to a woman, but i don't quite understand that. Maybe it is that men are attracted to women, and the flag is attracting men to war. Also the poem seems to be joyous over the fact of preparing for war, which i don't understand either, sorry to all who read this, i wish i could analyze this better.

5 6 Reply
Jeff Pinnell 15 December 2005

hes comparing a us flag during war to a womans characteristics.

3 6 Reply
Mallory Goodman 13 December 2005

In this poem Whitman seems to be comparing women to a flag that has been through many wars and battles. Some women wear lots of perfume and he may be comparing that to a flag that has been through many battles and is probably torn and ragged but still flies high.

3 6 Reply
Stacey Chaney 09 December 2005

I'm sure there is some deeper meaning that I'm missing but from the outside it seems that he is comparing women and war. I'm sure some how that is supposed to be complimentary but I don't see it.

2 6 Reply
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Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

New York / United States
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