e what would happen if there was another war, one worse than the last. Then, in the last two lines of the poem, it says that, "Parting is all that we know of heaven, and all we need of hell." This obvious religious reference is based upon several factors. First of all, war often seems like hell on earth. Secondly, many people turned to religion after the Civil War. They needed spiritual consolation and the hopes for a better future that a religious faith could provide. This poem is representative of the time, conveying through words not the horror that was experienced in war itself, but how battle effected all those remaining at home, as well as the spirit of the country itself. ...