惠特曼与内战

沃尔特·惠特曼（英语：Walt Whitman，1819年5月31日－1892年3月26日），出生于纽约州长岛，美国著名诗人、人文主义者，创造了诗歌的自由体（Free Verse），其代表作品是诗集《草叶集》(Leaves of Grass)。1841年 搬到纽约。1855年父亲去世，《草叶集》（Leaves of Grass）第一版。1862年， 探望在腓烈德利斯堡战役中受伤的兄弟。1865年 林肯被暗杀，惠特曼的战时诗集 Drum-Taps（后来放到《草叶集》中）出版。1871年母亲路易莎去世。1882年， 会见奥斯卡·王尔德，出版 Specimen Days and Collect。1885年 为纪念林肯逝世20周年，作诗《献给那个被钉在十字架上的人》，后收入《草叶集》。1888年， 第二次打击。严重的疾病。1891年， 草叶集最后一版。1892年3月26日，惠特曼去世。

The poet Walt Whitman wrote about the Civil War extensively. His heartfelt observation of life in wartime Washington made its way into poems, and he also wrote articles for newspapers and a number of notebook entries only published decades later.诗人沃尔特·惠特曼写了大量关于内战的文章。他对战时华盛顿生活的发自内心的观察被写成了诗歌，他还为报纸写了文章，还写了一些几十年后才出版的笔记。

He had worked for years as a journalist, yet Whitman did not cover the conflict as a regular newspaper correspondent. His role as an eyewitness to the conflict was unplanned. When a newspaper casualty list indicated that his brother serving in a New York regiment had been wounded in late 1862, Whitman traveled to Virginia to find him.惠特曼曾做过多年记者，但他并没有作为一名普通的报社记者报道这场冲突。他作为冲突目击者的角色是没有计划的。当报纸上的伤亡名单显示他在纽约团服役的兄弟在1862年底受伤时，惠特曼前往弗吉尼亚州寻找他。

Whitman's brother George had only been slightly wounded. But the experience of seeing army hospitals made a deep impression, and Whitman felt compelled to move from Brooklyn to Washington to become involved with the Union war effort as a hospital volunteer.惠特曼的弟弟乔治只受了轻伤。但是，参观军队医院的经历给人留下了深刻的印象，惠特曼觉得不得不从布鲁克林搬到华盛顿，作为一名医院志愿者参与联邦战争。

After securing a job as a government clerk, Whitman spent his off-duty hours visiting hospital wards filled with soldiers, comforting the wounded and the sick.在找到一份政府文员的工作后，惠特曼利用下班时间走访了满是士兵的医院病房，安慰伤员和病人。

In Washington, Whitman was also perfectly positioned to observe the workings of the government, movements of troops, and the daily comings and goings of a man he greatly admired, President Abraham Lincoln.在华盛顿，惠特曼也完全可以观察到政府的运作，军队的调动，以及他非常敬佩的亚伯拉罕·林肯总统的日常往来。

At times Whitman would contribute articles to newspapers, such as a detailed report of the scene at Lincoln’s second inaugural address. But Whitman’s experience as a witness to the war was mostly important as an inspiration for poetry.在《泰晤士报》的第二篇就职演说中，会对林肯的就职演说作详细的报道。但惠特曼作为这场战争的见证人的经历对诗歌的启发意义重大。

A collection of poems titled "Drum Taps," was published after the war as a book. The poems contained in it ultimately appeared as an appendix to later editions of Whitman's masterpiece, "Leaves of Grass."战后出版了一本名为《鼓点》的诗集。其中包含的诗歌最终作为惠特曼的代表作《草叶》后期版本的附录出现

Family Ties to the War

During the 1840s and 1850s, Whitman had been following politics in America closely. Working as a journalist in New York City, he no doubt followed the national debate over the greatest issue of the time, enslavement.在19世纪40年代和19世纪50年代，惠特曼一直密切关注美国的政治。作为一名在纽约市工作的记者，他无疑关注着当时最重大的问题——奴役问题的全国性辩论。

Whitman became a supporter of Lincoln during the 1860 presidential campaign. He also saw Lincoln speak from a hotel window in early 1861, when the president-elect passed through New York City on the way to his first inauguration. When Fort Sumter was attacked in April 1861 Whitman was outraged.惠特曼在1860年总统竞选期间成为林肯的支持者。1861年初，当当选总统在第一次就职典礼上路过纽约市时，他还看到林肯在酒店的窗口讲话。1861年4月萨姆特堡遭到袭击时，惠特曼非常愤怒。

In 1861, when Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the Union, Whitman’s brother George enlisted in the 51st New York Volunteer Infantry. He would serve for the entire war, eventually earning an officer’s rank, and would fight at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and other battles.1861年，当林肯号召志愿者保卫联邦时，惠特曼的弟弟乔治加入了第51纽约志愿军。他将参加整个战争，最终获得一个军官的军衔，并将在安提耶坦，弗雷德里克斯堡和其他战斗。

Following the slaughter at Fredericksburg, Walt Whitman was reading casualty reports in the New York Tribune and saw what he believed to be a misspelled rendering of his brother’s name. Fearing that George had been wounded, Whitman traveled southward to Washington.弗雷德里克斯堡惨案发生后，沃尔特·惠特曼正在阅读《纽约论坛报》上的伤亡报告，看到了他认为是他兄弟名字拼写错误的地方。由于担心乔治受伤，惠特曼南下华盛顿。

Unable to find his brother at military hospitals where he inquired, he traveled to the front in Virginia, where he discovered that George had only been very slightly wounded.在他询问的军队医院里找不到他的兄弟，他前往维吉尼亚前线，在那里他发现乔治只受了很轻的伤。

While at Falmouth, Virginia, Walt Whitman saw a horrifying sight beside a field hospital, a pile of amputated limbs. He came to empathize with the intense suffering of wounded soldiers, and during two weeks in December 1862, he spent visiting his brother he resolved to begin helping in military hospitals.在维吉尼亚州的法尔茅斯，沃尔特·惠特曼在一家野战医院旁边看到一堆被截肢的可怕景象。1862年12月的两个星期里，他去看望他决定开始在军队医院帮忙的弟弟。

Work as a Civil War Nurse

Wartime Washington contained a number of military hospitals which took in thousands of wounded and ill soldiers. Whitman moved to the city in early 1863, taking a job as a government clerk. He began making the rounds in hospitals, consoling the patients and distributing writing paper, newspapers, and treats such as fruits and candy.战时华盛顿有许多军队医院，收治了成千上万的伤兵和病兵。惠特曼于1863年初搬到这座城市，做了一份政府文员的工作。他开始在医院里巡视，安慰病人，分发信纸、报纸和水果、糖果等食品。

From 1863 to the spring of 1865 Whitman spent time with hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers. He helped them write letters home. And he wrote many letters to his friends and relatives about his experiences.从1863年到1865年春天，惠特曼与成百上千的士兵在一起。他帮他们写信回家。他给他的朋友和亲戚写了很多关于他的经历的信。

Whitman later said that being around the suffering soldiers had been beneficial to him, as it somehow restored his own faith in humanity. Many of the ideas in his poetry, about the nobility of common people, and the democratic ideals of America, he saw reflected in the wounded soldiers who had been farmers and factory workers.惠特曼后来说，与受苦的士兵在一起对他是有益的，因为这在某种程度上恢复了他对人类的信仰。在他的诗歌中，许多关于平民的高贵和美国的民主理想的思想，都反映在那些曾经是农民和工厂工人的受伤士兵身上。

Mentions in Poetry

The poetry Whitman wrote had always been inspired by the changing world around him, and so his eyewitness experience of the Civil War naturally began to infuse new poems. Before the war, he had issued three editions of "Leaves of Grass." But he saw fit to issue an entirely new book of poems, which he called "Drum Taps."惠特曼创作的诗歌总是受到周围不断变化的世界的启发，因此他亲眼目睹内战的经历自然开始注入新诗。战前，他出版了三个版本的《草叶》，但他认为发行一本全新的诗集是合适的，他称之为《鼓声》

The printing of "Drum Taps" began in New York City in the spring of 1865, as the war was winding down. But then the assassination of Abraham Lincoln prompted Whitman to postpone publication so he could include material about Lincoln and his passing.1865年春天，战争逐渐平息，纽约开始印刷“鼓点”。但后来，亚伯拉罕·林肯遇刺事件促使惠特曼推迟出版，以便他能够包括有关林肯及其逝世的材料。

In the summer of 1865, after the war’s end, he wrote two poems inspired by Lincoln’s death, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” and “O Captain! My Captain!” Both poems were included in "Drum Taps," which was published in the fall of 1865. The entirety of "Drum Taps" was added to later editions of "Leaves of Grass."1865年夏天，战争结束后，他写了两首诗，灵感来自林肯的死，“当紫丁香最后在院子里盛开”和“哦，队长！我的队长！这两首诗都被收录在1865年秋天出版的《鼓点》。后来的《草叶集》增加了全部的“鼓点”

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