The Book of the Dead"

The "you" functions very differently in Rukeyser's "Book of the Dead" versus Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Whitman only uses the word "you" once in the first 14 stanzas and when he does in the second stanza he is addressing "spring" as "you."  When he uses "you" again it isn't until section seven, stanza 15 and in this case "you" is "death." Later in the poem the "you" is used to refer to both the star and the bird. This is unlike Rukeyser's poem where the "you" is used in the first line and refers to the reader. The "you" in her poem pulls the reader right in and in a way holds them partially accountable for the tragedy. A main difference of the mourning in this poem versus Lilacs is that this tragedy was absolutely avoidable (The inspectors wore gas masks when they came to the construction site for short visits yet the men working there every day went without any protection. It wasn't a matter of ignorance to the danger; it was a matter of apathy.) While Whitman's poem is very personal, it is more personal to his own grief rather than inclusive of everyone's. He does write about the Nation mourning in section six, but largely the feel of the poem is of his own grief. Rukeyser's poem shies away from the sentimental and has an angrier tone. She takes the tragedy of of the Hawk's Nest Incident and uses it as a springboard to accuse America of it's "Nothing will stand in the way of progress" mentality. And rightly so in my humble opinion.

Obviously both poems are elegiac in tone and I can't help but wonder if Rukeyser had Whitman in mind when she wrote this. It not only reminds me of "Lilacs", but her style, the long sentences, the repetition, the painting a picture of America(albeit in a more negative light than Whitman,) reminds me a lot of other poems in "Leaves of Grass."

Whitman ends on a tone of honoring the fallen president though not naming him. His grief will go on, but he is able to manage it. There is transformation, but not a call to change. If he was attempting to do what Rukeyser did, then maybe there would be some mention of Booth, or a tone of anger that this terrible event wasn't thwarted somehow. Rather he focuses on the management of grief; finding a way to cope. By the end of the poem, "Book of the Dead"as dark as it is, there is a bit of hope in it as Rukeyser aims  to expose the lie of America, the "land myths of identity" and call for change. At least change is possible. She writes, "and you young, you who finishing the poem/wish new perfection and begin to make."