During his lifetime, Robert Lowell was willing to publicize and poeticize his liberalism in his activities and poems, where he often identifies himself with the socially marginalized. Lowell`s expression of his political stance in close association with his personal life deserves our attention, for many so-called "canonical" poets are politically conservative or hesitant to present their political positions. Nevertheless, Lowell`s liberalism has often been questioned as well because of the way he positions himself in relation to others. Thus, it has been argued that Lowell, highly educated and "aristocratic" in Boston, appropriates the narratives of minorities in order to deal with his own personal issues. In this sense, "For the Union Dead" is worth our close reading in that the poem registers his different attitude toward others. At first, the poem seems to present common characteristic features of Lowell`s poetry such as the recalling of his personal life in the past and his liberal perspective. Yet, the poem is more historical and social than personal, and the protagonist of the poem is not Lowell or his autobiographical speaker but Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and his African American soldiers. More importantly, the conclusion of the poem implies that Lowell seems to acknowledge the distance that others (African Americans) might have toward him, "Boston Brahmin," despite his attempt to take their perspective on racism. Given these elements, "For the Union Dead" demonstrates Lowell`s mature poetics that enables him to reconsider his position in dealing with the complexity of social issues.