When a tragedy strikes a nation, artists often turn to their work as means of expressing grief. Such the case is the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. In the days and months following Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865, Walt Whitman with "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and William Cullen Bryant with "Abraham Lincoln", both offer poetic elegies for this much loved president. Although Whitman's and Bryant's tributes to Lincoln share similarities, there are many differences in the way both poets chose to honor President Lincoln.
             Bryant and Whitman share an obvious respect for President Lincoln. Bryant and Whitman both covertly explain how, in the time of war, the North looked to Lincoln as their leader, and the poets write as an answer to the empty feeling in the North.
             Both Bryant and Whitman write in a romantic, flowery style as they immortalize a human. Although Lincoln's life was cut short, Bryant and Whitman choose to highlight his many accomplishments with prose, a medium that will outlast even the
             poets themselves. Now, on paper, Lincoln's feats will live on for eternity.
             Although the poets agree on the honor that should be bestowed upon this great man, both men illustrate that very differently. The first and most obvious distinction is the length. Bryant gives tribute in just 16 lines while Whitman's boasts 206. Bryant writes in a distinct metered verse with a regular rhyme scheme. Whitman conversely composes in free verse, exempt from any metered verse or rhyme scheme.
             Although Bryant's poetic elegy is free from similes and metaphors, Whitman utilizes a metaphor in line seven of the second stanza where he compares Lincoln to a star. The star, a symbol of continuous stability, commemorates Lincoln for perpetuity.
             While Bryant excludes metaphors to symbolize Lincoln's greatness, he demonstrates his extraordinary...