O’ Captain, My Captain A Poem by Walt Whitman

A Poetry Analysis by J. King

Walt Whitman

• Born May 31, 1819• Largely self-taught, an avid reader• Teacher 1836-1841 before becoming a

journalist (Long Islander)• 1855 Leaves of Grass published• Involvement in the Civil War• Not popular, struggled to support himself• Died March 26, 1892

Transcendentalism• A genre of literature during the late 1800’s in

America• Centered around Concord, Massachusetts and

the surrounding area• Centered on Nature• Theme: Self-Reliance• Style of Whitman: un-rhymed, free verse

sexuality, democratic sensibility• Other notable writers: Henry David Thoreau and

Ralph Waldo Emerson

O Captain, My CaptainBy: Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather'd every rack,

the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up- for you the flag is flung- for

you the bugle trills,

• The long journey is over

• Prize is won; end is near; people cheering the victory

• Vessel=ship or body

• Imagery of blood; death of the captain

• Jubilation of flag and bugle• Good vs. bad of the situation

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths- for you the shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the

deck, You've fallen cold and dead.

• Masses are exalting and mourning for the captain

• Speaker holds the head of the dead Captain

• Coming to the realization that the Captain is dead

• Juxtaposition of death and jubilant crowds

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

Exult O shores, and ring O bells!But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies,Fallen cold and dead.

• Death of the Captain begins to become evident

• Pulse and strength are gone

• Voyage is over, safe and sound

• Object won-Civil War (end of slavery)

• Exultation/bells-rejoice the end

• Captain=Abraham Lincoln--dead

Symbols and Important Images

• Captain=Abraham Lincoln

• Prize=End to Slavery• Object Won=End to Civil

War

Tone/ Mood

• Beginning= celebratory, a time for rejoicing a victory

• Middle=disbelief of tragedy

• End=realization of the tragedy of the death of the “Captain”

Themes

• Loyalty: commitment to the fallen leader• Coming of Age: speaker trying to force himself

to believe/understand what has happened• Death: abrupt and unexpected, glory in

death?

A Final Thought• Although the poem departs from the style of

Whitman’s other poems, it is his most popular and most celebrated. His vivid images and use of emotion draws in the reader and leaves a sense of loss and emptiness. This is the same loss that was felt by the American people when their Captain, Abraham Lincoln, was brutally and unexpectedly murdered. In a time of new beginning in America, the people needed a poet like Walt Whitman and a poem like O Captain, My Captain.