When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd by Walt Whitman

Ms. Mammen reads excerpts from Whitman's poem commemorating the death of President Lincoln.

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd,
And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,
I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

O powerful western fallen star!
O shades of night -- O moody, tearful night!
O great star disappear'd -- O the black murk that hides the star!
O cruel hands that hold me powerless -- O helpless soul of me!
O harsh surrounding cloud that will not free my soul.

Coffin that passes through lanes and streets,
Through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land,
With the pomp of the inloop'd flags with the cities draped in black,
With the show of the States themselves as of crape-veil'd women standing,
With processions long and winding and the flambeaus of the night,
With the countless torches lit, with the silent sea of faces and the unbared heads,
With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces,
With dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn,
With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour'd around the coffin,
The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs -- where amid these you journey,
With the tolling tolling bells' perpetual clang,
Here, coffin that slowly passes,
I give you my sprig of lilac.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Walt
• Whitman
• poetry
• Watchung
• Hills
• whrhs
• mammen
• porter
• when
• lilacs
• last
• dooryard
• bloom'd

[AjayK117]

Ajay Kashi |  V

[AjayK117]

Mrs. Mammen's voice combined with the sorrow of the music truly captures not only what Walt Whitman was saying, but the true meaning and purpose behind his words. Whitman intertwines passionate human emotions with the tranquilty of nature, creating a somber portrait of the passing of Lincoln's coffin. Above all else, this is a public poem about private mourning. Whitman makes clear that by this day and age, a deeply symbolic, personal remembrance must replace the ceremonial elegy of the past.

[mikdej1]

This reading of "When the Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" by Mrs. Mammen portrays the brooding, dreary atmosphere and sense of loss which Whitman conveys through his poem. Mrs. Mammen memorably delivers Whitman's sorrowful, regretful lines. The diction in Whitman's writing evokes a powerful sense of loss and longing -- his allusion to Abraham Lincoln as a "powerful, western, fallen star" both immortalizes Lincoln and laments his loss; yet, the lilacs show his adoration.

Michael DeJesus

[thesarahbayat]

"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" is a very emotional poem about Abraham Lincoln. Whitman write his feelings about Abraham Lincoln's Murder. Whitman captured the tone in his poem by exposing his thought about the assasination. Ms. Mammen also captured the tone the way she read the poem, which got the point across.

[AlLwHiTeMeAt199]

I enjoyed the information provided at the beginning of the video. The actual story of this poem is very interesting and strong. Tim Sinnott

[MaggieKoll]

"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" is a moving poem that not only describes what Whitman was feeling about Lincolns murder but also what the American public was feeling at the time. It's a theme of deep sadness and the question "Why?" lingers when Ms. Mammen reads. Her tone is perfect to get Whitmans point across, and I personally feel she did a great job.

-Maggie Kollmar

[danadisarno]

I think the background music went really well with the poem. It had a lot of imagery in the poem and showed exactly how things were after Lincolns death. I think mrs. mammen did a great job reading it.

[nygiantsfan79]

John Herrmann Pd. 8: I think that Mrs. Makkah did a great job at reading the poem. She read it clearly and with a soft tone that reall made it easier to listen to.

[sk8enpysico700]

I think Mrs. Mammen read the poem with feeling and it really captured my attention. I think it is cool how Whitman dedicated a poem to Lincon. He

captured the mood of the pressesion. -Nicole Honegger

[jen51995]

Jennifer King:

The poem "O Captain! My Captain" is written very well. However I enjoyed reading "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" more because Whitman does a better job of capturing the true feelings of death in it. Death especially of a leader is not something people take lightly, which seems to be happening in the poem "O Captain! My Captain." Death more closely resembles the other poem and Whitman does a fantastic job of showing not telling the emotions felt in this poem.