Robert Lowell presents his depiction of the future of America in his poem “For the Union Dead”. In this poem, Lowell uses imagery as his basis for description and foretells of the oncoming decay of our American ideals. The imagery Lowell uses makes this poem more vivid and tangible, illuminating the present state of the nation, Lowell’s own past, American history, and the corruption of the future. Lowell creates the picture of a path …showed first 75 words of 587 total…

…showed last 75 words of 587 total…decay of values dominates “For the Union Dead” and is manifested through the vivid imagery that Lowell originates in his disgust at the direction the nation is headed. His inspiration was obviously the destruction of the aquarium, but as he considered this, it became much more. It is much more than the destruction of an aquarium; it is the destruction of the Union. The aquarium is just another casualty in the “Last war here” (line 54).