"Lessons"

THERE are who teach only the sweet lessons of peace and safety;
But I teach lessons of war and death to those I love,
That they readily meet invasions, when they come.


Analysis:

In this poem, Walt Whitman is trying to sat that the world isn’t perfect at all. He states that people hide from the bad things, such as wars and invasions, and the “ones who teach” (an allusion to both teachers and politicians) teach only “sweet lessons of peace and safety” (l.2). This means that students do not know the full reality, but only the good and happy part of life. He is evidently against this idea “but I teach” (l.2), and states that he teaches lessons of war and death to the people he loves, so that they can readily face invasions, when and if they come. This shows how he cares for the people he loves, and how he also firmly believes that life isn’t just joy and happiness, but has also a negative aspect such as wars. He therefore wants people to be ready to fight these negative aspects of life, and most important of all, to know that these threats exist. They mustn’t think that life is always peaceful and safe. “Lessons” is composed of one stanza of three verses; there isn’t a rhyme scheme. Some major themes are love, life as well as death. There are no “poetic tools” such as metaphors and similes, for the poem is very direct in sending its message.

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