O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman is a reflection of the mourning of the people as well as the poet for the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. This was a major shock to the nation that was already facing tumultuous circumstances due to the war. As the Civil War gave results and slave freedom was achieved, John Wilkes Booth from the CSA (Confederate States Army) shot the President as an act of vengeance. As the war progressed Whitman started to like the ideals of Lincoln and he became very affectionate towards the man. He never met Abraham Lincoln and neither was he fond of the ways of the President (initially). Walt Whitman was a great supporter of the North and encouraged the cause through his works. However, the speaker is aware of the death of the Captain and says that he will mourn for his captain dead on the deck. He asks the bells to ring and the shores to exult on the victory the ship was able to achieve. As he mourns the death, the ship slowly reaches the port completing its voyage. He observes that there is no pulse nor does the captain possess a will to live. The speaker feels that it is some sort of dream watching his captain dead on the deck.Ĭaptain is motionless his lips turn pale and cannot feel the arm of the speaker. He implores the captain to look at the eager faces of the crowd as he keeps his hand beneath the head of his captain. He describes the tolling of bells, flung flags on his honor, bugles playing, cheering of crowds with bouquets and wreaths in their hands. He pleads the captain to rise as there are lot of cheers and expectations for him on the shore.
The speaker cannot believe that his captain is dead. The jubilant mood changes as the speaker finds the captain dead on the deck. He hears the bells and people cheering for their triumph in the sea. He states that the trip is complete after an exhausting journey and they have emerged victorious. The speaker starts with joyful shouts calling out his captain as he sees the port. The three stanzas reflect the mourning state of the speaker. The poem is a straight elegy and does not create confusion about the inner meaning of the lines. This was the incident that disturbed Whitman who produced two of the most famous elegies in English literature – When Lilacs in the Dooryard Bloom’d and O Captain! My Captain! The latter was written in the year 1865, the same year Abraham Lincoln died. His efforts were successful but the President was assassinated shortly. Abraham Lincoln during that time waged a Civil War against the North to ensure black freedom. Whitman was a combination of many philosophies and in many ways supported the abolishment of slavery. The title underwent several revisions throughout his life and has some immortal poems like Song of Myself, When Lilacs in the Dooryard Bloom’d, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, O Captain! My Captain! and many others. Leaves of Grass is the magnum opus of the bard with multiple revisions ever since its first publication in the year 1855. His style is a close combination of transcendentalism, Indian philosophy, patriotism, love and realism.
#THE PRIZE MEANING O CAPTIN MY CAPTAIN FREE#
Walt Whitman is considered to best poet America has ever seen and is regarded as the father of free verse. Walt Whitman – O Captain! My Captain! – Summary and Analysis
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