Shenandoah (Symbol)
The Shenandoah Valley is a symbol that assigns blame both literally and figuratively. The literal reference is to a valley in Virginia, the state where John Brown was hung. In this sense, it is a direct acknowledgment of the state of Virginia's role in his death. As a symbol, Virginia represents the whole country’s failure to abolish the cruel institution of slavery. In the poem's estimation, Virginia is to blame for killing John Brown, but Shenandoah is an accusatory symbol of America’s guilt for allowing slavery's existence and arriving at the inevitable flashpoint of war.
The Beard (Symbol)
In this instance, a specific historical image is being transposed into a poetic context. Toward the end of his life, Brown grew a long, flowing beard that was almost Biblical in appearance. Southern slaveowners saw his unkempt appearance, alongside his radical actions, as clear evidence of madness. Melville confronts this divergence directly with the parenthetical line “Weird John Brown.” He is making reference to the mocking nickname Southerners gave Brown. However, by the poem's end, Melville inverts this image, making it into an omen for the encroachment of the Civil War. Brown's beard encapsulates both the fervor of his devotion to abolition and the endurance of his legacy in the Northern cause.
The Meteor (Symbol)
The meteor functions as a relatively simple symbol. In poetic tradition, meteors streaking across the sky are a "portent" of majorly significant events that will reshape the world. In this case, the meteor (both Brown and the beard upon his face) is predicting the Civil War. This symbol is essential to any reading of the poem because it highlights its mission of rereading history. For Melville, Brown's failed raid and death are clearly not the end of abolition, they are the opening shots of the war.
