Barbara Frietchie

The luxurious beauty of nature in early September is emphasized in the first four couplets. The town of Frederick is surrounded by green hills and orchards full of ripe apple and peach trees. The area is like a garden that comes fresh from the hands of God. The serenity of nature serves as a contrast to the anguish, human conflict, and potentially dangerous scene that is about to unfold in the town.

Toward the end of the poem, in Lines 49-50, after the human drama has played out, the serenity of nature briefly returns; the setting sun can be seen through the gaps in the hills shining on the flag “with a warm good-night” (Line 50). The final image in the poem is of the stars shining down on the flag. Thus, the beauty of nature serves as a kind of framework in the opening and closing of the poem that both contains and contrasts with the turbulent human actions playing out in the main body of the poem.

The speaker makes it abundantly clear that Frederick is a town where patriotic Union sentiment runs strong. Early in the morning, forty U.