The Wound-Dresser is one of Walt Whitman's most popular poem, published in 1865 in his collection Drum Taps. It is a personal, graphic, and absolutely moving poem that centres on the theme of nursing the sick and dying and gives a realistic view of war and the unexciting side of what happens to the men who go to the fight it. This poem is extraordinary for its lack of extreme portrayals of pain and suffering. The poem features Whitman's experiences during the Civil War as a volunteer in Washington's hospitals. The Wound Dresser is then, a poem of the Civil War, a poem of our country's history, a poem of the poet's 'specimen interior', a poem based in Washington D.C., and a poem that reviews 'the narrow of the tragedy' that is war. It is a poem of remembering, of memory, of memory reviewed through dream. This is a remarkable collection of articles and letters about Walt Whitman's skills volunteering as a nurse in the Civil War. In the book, there is three articles. The articles tell about his time in the Civil War and many of his experiences with injured soldiers he met.
Walt Whitman was an American poet, born on 31 May 1819 in West Hills on Long Island. His parents were Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor. His father owned a large farmland which was sold out earlier his birth, so his childhood was in sufferings. At the 11 years of age, he left formal schooling. He did several jobs, as a printer, journalist, teacher and a government clerk. In his poems he expressed over freedom, individuality, sensuality, divinity and nature. Leaves of Grass was Whitman's most well-known work, first published in 1855 by Whitman himself, initially it was composition of 12 poems. His few significant poems were-'Song of Myself' and 'I Sing the Body Electric' O Captain! My Captain!. He focused on humanism, rationalism and democratic thoughts. He emphasized on gains as well loss also. Due to his incredible writing he is popularly called as 'father of free verse' and 'bard of democracy'. He was died on 26 March 1892. His notable works-Franklin Evans, The Half Breed, Life and Adventures of Jack Engle, Drum- Taps, Leaves of Grass, etc.
