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The theme of Whitman’s poem, Beat! Beat! Drums!, is, in my opinion, anti-war. During the first few stanzas of the poem, one would think Whitman was looking at the Civil War from a pro-war standpoint. However, in the last line of the poem, “So strong you thump O terrible drums...” it is clear that Whitman is trying to denounce the war rather than glorify it. Whitman, in all three stanzas, composes a thematic list of the aspects of life that are affected by the war. In the first stanza, Whitman is clearly outlining specific places and its corresponding spectators whose lives have become crippled by the “ruthless force” otherwise known as the war. In the second stanza, Whitman shows how the war poses a threat to not only the people, but to their everyday life