“General William Booth Enters into Heaven” is a short, fifty-six line, rhymed elegy. It is divided into two sections. The first section contains two stanzas, totaling twenty-three lines, and the second section contains five stanzas, totaling thirty-three lines. The title establishes the dramatic setting of the poem—General Booth’s ascension into the glory of heaven. The poem makes heavy use of repetition and onomatopoeia.

The poem is written in third-person, omniscient, simple narration. No attention is drawn to the narrator, as the narration is intended to report, rather than interpret, the events of the poem. In the modern tradition of the elegy, “General Booth Enters into Heaven” is a dignified and climactically glorifying chronicle. This form of simple narration is intended to recite events and is largely chronological, creating a you-are-there presentation.

The poem takes as its subject the ascent into heaven of a well-respected, generous, self-sacrificing historical figure; Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. The qualities that the general possessed in life not only permit his ascension but also, by extension, elevate the status of the street people that surround him and to whom he dedicated his life to helping. Through his intervention, they accompany him to heaven.

Vachel Lindsay based the poem on the cadences and tune of the Salvation Army hymn “The Blood of the Lamb” and included parenthetical instructions for the poem’s recitation, such as “Bass drum slower and softer” and “Sweet flute music.” The poem combines Salvation Army oratory and lyricism. With its variations of rhythm and volume and its many contrasts, the poem moves between tension and celebration. Lindsay was very proud that his poems could be danced to (yet he repeatedly said that poetry is intended primarily for the reader’s inner ear, which is a source of truth). His intent was usually to evoke emotional responses. Lindsay’s greatest successes occur when he captures his own excitement concerning his subjects.

“General William Booth Enters into Heaven” is a good example of the simple emotional appeal of Lindsay’s poems. The poem is stately and moves inevitably toward its resounding climax, a movement that is accompanied by the sounds of a Salvation Army band. The first stanza begins with the sound of a bass drum booming loudly. In this stanza the reader (or listener) is introduced to the subject, Booth, the people he helped, and the reaction of the saints to his heralded arrival. The second stanza is accompanied by the sounds of banjos, as a catalog of Booth’s accomplishments is presented. In the third stanza, Booth’s faith is chronicled; his faith persevered despite physical blindness, and, through the image of an eagle, Lindsay makes it clear that his blindness only increased the power of Booth’s inner, spiritual sight. The fourth, fifth, and sixth stanzas, accompanied by flute, bass drum again, and then a “grand chorus of all instruments,” depict the arrival of Booth at heaven’s gate. He is met by Jesus and is accompanied by the unfortunate people he had struggled to help in his lifetime of service. Finally, in the concluding stanza, Booth and “King Jesus” meet face to face. The accompanying music is voice only, no instruments, and is “reverently sung.”

The first line of the poem is one example of the subtle and intimate qualities of Lindsay’s verse. The first metrical foot of the first line is composed of three long syllables. Thereafter, syncopation is achieved through the use of feet composed of two short syllables. Lindsay intersperses trochees (feet of two syllables, of which the first syllable is long or...