Thesis has clear point of tension
Topic sentence lets me know
as a reader where
Eliza Sautter
writer is taking me
Mrs. Zentz
English II, Period 2
3 June, 2014
Poem/Title in italics
Creative title
Expressive Difference: War of the Words
The poem “The Artilleryman’s Vision” and the letter “Letter to His Mother”, both written
by Walt Whitman are very simple in their differences yet those simple differences are
extraordinarily representative of their topic, the civil war. The civil war much like the poem and
the letter are two very different sides fighting for their right to express themselves, something the
author did in two separate ways by writing the poem and the letter. While Walt Whitman’s poem
and letter had many commonalities, at the core they are two entirely different pieces.
​The main similarities between the poem and the letter are in the topic and plot being
discussed. Both pieces describe the atrocities of the Civil War in great detail. “I hear the sounds
of the different missiles, the short t-h-t! t-h-t! of the rifle balls,” (Whitman 76). While Whitman
describes the events as above, he does so without glorifying the war “But he retains a good heart,
and is at present on the gain…” (Whitman 78). The most commonality shared between the two
separate pieces is the author and his sentiments expressed. War is brutal and hideous and the
soldiers are the true heroes.
​Unlike the similarities between the poem and the letter, the differences are vast and vital.
The poem is very specific and follows a strict pattern while the letter is casual and allows the
author to express himself freely. He starts the letter by saying “January 29, 1865 – Dear Mother-“
(Whitman 78) while he starts the poem “While my wife at my side lies slumbering, and the wars
are over long,” (Whitman 76). Another difference is the story portrayed in each piece, the poem
about the pain of many while the letter expresses the pain of one. The most important difference
though is how the reader feels when done reading the two separate pieces. The poem causes
sadness over the death and loss of war and the poem causes and immense sense of hope and
desperation for the survival of every individual wounded.
Walt Whitman expressed his views on the civil war with few commonalities and many
vast differences in his two different formats of writing. One couldn’t pick the poem over the
letter or the other way around because both pieces were too different in their expression of one
event. Both pieces must be read and understood thoroughly and taken for what they are.
Quotes with parenthetical citation
Excellent analysis or that answers
"So what?" to established differences
Works Cited Include
List alphabetically
Works Cited
Whitman, Walt. “The Artilleryman’s Vision.” Common Core Assesment, Level10. Orlando:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. Print.
Whitman, Walt. “Letter to His Mother.” Common Core Assesment, Level10. Orlando: Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. Print.
Hanging indent