research paper on o captain

• DOI: 10.36348/sijll.2022.v05i10.003
• Corpus ID: 253050792

A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Walt Whitman’s Poem “O Captain! My Captain!”

• Zhang Li , Wang Fangya
• Published in Scholars International… 20 October 2022
• Linguistics, History

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O Captain! My Captain! Summary & Analysis by Walt Whitman

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Line-by-Line Explanations

“O Captain! My Captain!” is an elegy written by Walt Whitman in 1865 to commemorate the death of President Abraham Lincoln. It was first published in Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865), a collection of Whitman’s poems inspired by the events of the American Civil War. The poem is perhaps Whitman’s most famous—which is ironic, since it is far more conventional in meter, form, and subject than much of Whitman’s other work. Although some critics have suggested that Whitman regretted ever writing “O Captain! My Captain!” it undeniably captured the mood of a nation in mourning and has remained one of Whitman’s best-loved and most-quoted poems.

• Read the full text of “O Captain! My Captain!”

The Full Text of “O Captain! My Captain!”

1 O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

2 The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,

3 The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

4 While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

5                          But O heart! heart! heart!

6                             O the bleeding drops of red,

7                                Where on the deck my Captain lies,

8                                   Fallen cold and dead.

9 O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

10 Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,

11 For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,

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

13                          Here Captain! dear father!

14                             This arm beneath your head!

15                                It is some dream that on the deck,

16                                  You’ve fallen cold and dead.

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

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

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

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

21                          Exult O shores, and ring O bells!

22                             But I with mournful tread,

23                                Walk the deck my Captain lies,

24                                   Fallen cold and dead.

“O Captain! My Captain!” Summary

“o captain my captain” themes.

Victory and Loss

• See where this theme is active in the poem.

Grief and Isolation

The Individual vs. the Nation

Line-by-line explanation & analysis of “o captain my captain”.

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;

O the bleeding drops of red,

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Lines 13-18

Here Captain! dear father!                             This arm beneath your head!                                It is some dream that on the deck,                                  You’ve fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

Lines 19-24

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.

“O Captain! My Captain!” Symbols

• See where this symbol appears in the poem.

“O Captain! My Captain!” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

Extended metaphor.

• See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

Alliteration

End-stopped line, personification, juxtaposition, “o captain my captain” vocabulary.

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “O Captain! My Captain!”

Rhyme scheme, “o captain my captain” speaker, “o captain my captain” setting, literary and historical context of “o captain my captain”, more “o captain my captain” resources, external resources.

Whitman Out Loud — For audio recordings of the poem, check out the free downloadable selection from LibriVox.

Poetry and the Mediation of Value: Whitman on Lincoln — This is the text of a lecture by Professor Helen Vendler, a famous authority on American and British poetry. Although it is an academic lecture, it is written in an accessible style.

Two Worlds of Mourning: Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln’s Death — This resource from the National Portrait Gallery dives in to the relationship between Walt Whitman and the subject of his elegy, President Abraham Lincoln.

Clip from Dead Poets Society — "O Captain! My Captain!" remains a staple of the American school curriculum and appears frequently in popular culture. Watch a famous scene from the film Dead Poets Society in which students recite the beginning of the poem for their teacher, played by Robin Williams.

Encyclopedia.com Entry on "O Captain! My Captain!" — An extensive introduction to the poem and its context. The "Critical Overview" section is particularly comprehensive, including excerpts from the work of several prominent critics.

LitCharts on Other Poems by Walt Whitman

A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown

A Noiseless Patient Spider

Beat! Beat! Drums!

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

I Hear America Singing

I Sing the Body Electric

O Me! O Life!

One's-Self I Sing

The Voice of the Rain

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

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The Evolution of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!”

April 18, 2019

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

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This post was written by Cheryl Lederle, Barbara Bair and Victoria Van Hyning of the Library of Congress.

The poet Walt Whitman revised almost everything he wrote, sometimes over and over. He often drafted his poems on odd scraps of available paper or bits of envelopes that he later pasted together, or in notebooks he carried in his pocket. Many poems started as just a jotted idea, a title, or a few trial lines.

The Library of Congress houses the largest archival collection of Walt Whitman materials in the world, all of which have are now available online. Seeing portions of Whitman’s poems in various stages of composition reveals both his very active creative mind and his innovative ways of seeing the world and crafting poetic expressions.

For example, present students with this early draft  of a familiar Walt Whitman poem and allow time for them to examine the layers of crossed out and replaced words. Invite them to focus on one set of changes and speculate on what effect the poet is achieving with the revisions.

In the first stanza, Whitman crosses out the word “we” and replaces it with “I.” Ask students: How might this change the way that you experience the poem? How much does it change the meaning? Direct students to consider other revisions to the draft, asking the same questions.

Then, present students with the printed copy with corrections and again allow time for them to study and reflect on the revisions. Ask them to compare the two items: In addition to the word choices, students might consider the format; that one is handwritten and the other is printed; and order of stanzas.

Walt Whitman wrote “Oh Captain! My Captain!” to honor Abraham Lincoln after the President was assassinated in 1865. “Oh Captain!” became one of Whitman’s most well-known poems and was included in many anthologies, but in many ways it is atypical of Whitman’s poetic style, which was typified by his use of free verse and long lines that spill into two lines on the printed or handwritten page. Compare this memorial poem with some of the fragments and longer works in the collection .

The Library’s crowdsourcing initiative  “By the People”  will launch a campaign April 24 to enlist the public to help transcribe more than 121,000 pages of Whitman’s writings and papers to make them more searchable and accessible online. Documents selected for transcription will include samples of Whitman’s poetry, prose and correspondence, including versions of poems such as “Oh Captain! My Captain!” and fragments of poems Whitman published in more finished form in “Leaves of Grass.”

This is also a special opportunity for teachers and students to engage with Whitman’s creative process. Drafts and portions of his poems at various stages of composition reveal his active, creative mind, as well as his innovative ways of seeing the world and wordsmithing poetic expressions.

The Library will collaborate with the National Council of Teachers of English to host a Transcribe-a-Thon webinar on April 24 at 4 p.m. Eastern time. The one-hour event will bring together experts from the Library, NCTE, and educators to discuss how students can analyze, transcribe, review and tag the Whitman papers. Registration is open to all and  available here .

Let us know in the comments what surprises your students or what they discover!

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O Captain! My Captain!

By Walt Whitman

Saddened by the results of the American civil war, Walt Whitman wrote the elegy, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ in memory of deceased American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The civil war occurred during his lifetime with Whitman a staunch supporter of unionists.

Walt Whitman

Nationality: American

His deeply emotional, spiritual, and nature-based poems appeal to poetry lovers around the world.

Key Poem Information

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Central Message: Lincoln's leadership was critical.

Themes: Celebration , Death , Journey

Speaker: A sailor

Emotions Evoked: Grief , Pain , Sadness

Poetic Form: Free Verse

Time Period: 19th Century

This is a moving elegy for Abraham Lincoln, using vivid imagery and a mournful tone to convey the sense of loss felt by the nation.

Walt Whitman’s masterpiece, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ moves with a sheer melancholic tone throughout its entirety. He was the new-age poet, poised with breaking away from the shackles of established poetic practices and forming new ones just as America was created for a different purpose, tearing away from the yoke of colonialism and steering clear of undermining the proletariat class.

On the other hand, Walt Whitman ( Bio | Poems ) uses poetic devices similar to that of William Wordsworth ( Bio | Poems ) and Dante Alighieri ( Bio ) . Speaking in the language of ordinary men, Walt Whitman aspired to become the voice of the nation, speaking at the behest of the American population at the time. As a result, he has recorded the events, moods , and spirits of the time magnificently.

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Explore O Captain! My Captain!

• 2 Poem Title’s Meaning
• 3 Structure
• 4 Literary Devices
• 6 Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
• 7 Historical Context
• 8 Similar Poetry

‘O Captain! My Captain!’ by Walt Whitman ( Bio | Poems ) is a heart-touching elegy on the death of the American President Abraham Lincoln ( Poems ) .

The speaker ’s coming to terms with the death of his fallen comrade is the focal point of the poem at hand. At the start of the poem, the speaker attempts to come to reality as he observes his dead captain on the deck. Slowly and gradually, he realizes that the change is permanent and life must go, regardless. The end of the Civil War was supposedly a moment of rejoicing for the American populace; instead, it became an event of mourning. The conclusion of the Civil War has brought with it national mourning and a period of reflection.

Poem Title’s Meaning

The title of the poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ refers to Abraham Lincoln ( Poems ) as a captain of the ship. Here, the “ship” is a symbol of the civil war fought to liberate the slaves. According to the poet, the ship is sailing nearer to the shore, meaning the war is about to end. They have achieved their coveted goal. Being a moment of victory, everyone is happy. However, they have to consider, at the same time, that their metaphorical “captain” of the ship is no more. When he lived, he guided the multitude with his fatherly guidance. After his death, the nation is fatherless. In this agony, the poet writes the verses . However, the mood of the poem is not gloomy. Even if they have lost Lincoln, the dream Lincoln has seen is not lost.

The poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ consists of 3 stanzas in totality, having 2 quatrains in each. A quatrain is a stanza consisting of four lines. Besides, this poem is an elegy. An elegy is known as a mourning poem. Apart from that, Whitman uses the free verse form while writing this poem. For this reason, the lines of the poem do not rhyme at all. Yet there are some instances where one can find the use of rhyming . As an example, in the second part of the first stanza, the words “red” and “dead” rhyme together. Thereafter, the poet mostly uses the iambic meter in this poem. For instance, the first line is in iambic hexameter . The following two lines are in iambic heptameter . At the same time, the second quatrain does not follow a specific metrical scheme.

Literary Devices

Most of Walt Whitman’s poems use repetition and rhythm to render a spellbinding poetic beauty. He uses anaphora constantly, as several verses begin with the same word/ phrase. For instance, ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomers’ uses ‘when’ 4 times to render a lyrical sound. Anaphora is generally used for joyous chants and rendering celebratory feelings in a poem’s entirety. ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ makes use of ‘father’ and ‘heart’ to mourn the death of assassinated Abraham Lincoln ( Poems ) . Moreover, the fallen ship’s captain is a reference to Abraham Lincoln ( Poems ) , whereas the ship is also an allusion to the United States of America during its early years of independence.

Whitman emphasizes the importance of self in the majority of his poems, ranging from ‘I Hear America Singing’ to others; he prizes the American populace to believe in themselves. More so, he even uses symbolical allusions to drive home a point. He may use inanimate objects for that end. Apart from that, Whitman uses the themes of victory, lamentation, grief, sadness, and loss in his poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ . Though this poem concerns the theme of victory, it contains a sad note on the death of Lincoln. The poet creates contrast by transposing the images of the joyous crowd beside the lifeless body of the captain. This concoction of emotions resembles the nature of life. Along with that, the themes of grief and lamentation are important aspects of this piece.

Analysis, Stanza by Stanza

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.

In the first stanza of ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ the speaker shouts with sheer excitement to the ship’s captain about making it home safe and sound. The ship, after enduring tough storms and impenetrable winds, made it back on the dock. Jaded and exhausted after a tiresome journey, the mission has been a roaring success. Although the ship is yet to arrive safely in the harbor, ‘land ahoy,’ ‘land ahoy’ as the ship is close by and people are seemingly exulted by its sight.

The church bells are ringing, and people act animatedly as the ship nigh the shore. The excitement escalates as the boat nears the harbor. The keel has been thrown in to steady the moving ship. The keel is a reference to a ‘ship’ as well, same as ‘all hands on deck’ means all people should be ready.

As the ship draws near the harbor, the poem takes on a dark turn, foreboding something unfavorable to be revealed. ‘Grim and daring’ are the terms referring to the twisting mood. The would-be ghost ship carries some unwanted news for the awaiting crowd.

Thereafter, he speaks from the heart. The heart has shattered and torn over the death of the ship’s captain. The breakdown of emotions is surging from the sailor as the fallen comrade lies beside him, in all his glory but dead. Drops of blood are flowing on the ship’s deck, the blood of Abraham Lincoln.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills, 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.

The sailor implores the now-dead captain to rise from the dead. The act of talking to the dead is known as an apostrophe . The reason is that the people ashore await their prized captain to lead the way and stamp his mark on history. The crowd is jubilant as they celebrate using some devices such as raising the flag in victory, holding flowers, and cheering for the captain. The crowd is getting restless as anticipation rises to catch a glimpse of their ship’s captain. Alas! He’s no longer with them.

In actuality, the ship’s captain is not his biological father, but truly, his respect and reverence for him stand greater than his actual father. The sailor looks at the fallen comrade and wishes this nightmare was just a dream. Alas! As the reality sets in, the sailor realizes the damage is irreparable.

Stanza Three

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.

In the last stanza of ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ , the sailor looks sadly at the dead captain in pure agony. He observes his lips to have paled a la that of a corpse. The captain fails to respond to his cries of helplessness. The liveliness from the captain’s face has drained now. His pulse has stopped, and he’s unlikely to move from now on. The ship has landed safely in the harbor with its anchor thrown in. The voyage is now complete. The sailor reminisces about the trip to be extremely arduous, yet they crossed the line with a trade-off.

The concluding lines of the poem explicate the fact that the sailor has some bad news to share with the awaiting crowd. He appeals directly to the loud jeers, cheers, and ringing bells for the much-awaited captain. Again, the poet uses synecdoche to represent the entire American audience at large as the poem relates to the death of Abraham Lincoln. The sailor feels uncomfortable as he needs to relay the bad news to the populace at large, as the victory celebrations come to a standstill.

Historical Context

‘O Captain! My Captain!’ was authored by famous American poet Walt Whitman ( Bio | Poems ) . It alluded to President Abraham Lincoln’s death in 1865. The poem was a part of his controversially famous collection of poems, “Leaves of Grass.” The poetic collection was continuously revised to add new poetic pieces from Walt Whitman ( Bio | Poems ) as a result. ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ at the time of its publication became an intensely popular poem for classics, read in schools over the years to come. For Whitman, the praise was redundant by all means. Commenting on Whitman’s poetry , he said that the audience of his time appreciated poetry with form, rhyme, and meter, still unfamiliar with the free-verse concept. The poem moves its reader with utter undertones of remorse and sadness over the conclusion of the Civil War and its dramatic ramifications later, rendering a powerful period poem in the process.

Similar Poetry

The following poems are similar to the themes and subject matter of Whitman’s lyric , ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ .

• Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Vachel Lindsay ( Poems ) – This poem portrays the spirit of Lincoln wandering in the streets, having awakened from his eternal sleep due to the devastation of World War I.
• from The People, Yes by Carl Sandburg ( Bio | Poems ) – This poem is about Abraham Lincoln ( Poems ) , his leadership, and how he stood firm with his countrymen during the Civil War.
• When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman ( Bio | Poems ) – This poem is another elegy written upon the death of Lincoln. It highlights the inevitability of death.
• Hush’d Be the Camps To-Day by Walt Whitman ( Bio | Poems ) – Whitman wrote this poem in memory of Lincoln. Here, he presents the reasons for writing this poem.
• The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes ( Bio | Poems ) – It’s one of the best-known poems of Langston Hughes. This poem concerns a man who has seen the great ages of the world and listened to Mississippi while Lincoln was sibling down it.

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19th century, celebration, death of a loved one.

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no way you actually did a perfect job do more

There is an abundance of l sounds (liquids) in the poem which conveys the feeling that the ship is moving over the sea.There is also abundance of sibilants (s and sh sounds) in the poem which echoes the swaying sound of the sea.

Great observation. Thank you for adding this.

is very good

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• Annotated Full Text
• Literary Period: American Romanticism
• Publication Date: 1865
• Flesch-Kincaid Level: 5
• Approx. Reading Time: 1 minute

O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman wrote “O Captain! My Captain!” after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The poem appeared in Sequel to Drum-Taps and became a prominent literary fixture of American Romanticism.

“O Captain! My Captain!” is an elegy that employs an extended metaphor of a slain ship captain to represent the assassination of President Lincoln after he led the Union to victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Whitman juxtaposes celebrations of victory with images of the captain, who lies “fallen cold and dead,” to commemorate Lincoln’s death and emphasize the ultimate cost of the war.

Table of Contents

• Text of the Poem
• Literary Devices
• Quote Analysis

Study Guide

• Walt Whitman Biography

• The American Dream and Related Constructs Words: 1407
• Current Status of “The American Dream” by B. King Words: 1200
• The Comprehension of the American Dream in “Death of a Salesman” Words: 1168

“O Captain! My Captain!”: Symbolism, Imagery, and the American Dream

Introduction, “o captain my captain” and the american dream, abraham lincoln in “o captain my captain”.

The famous “O Captain! My Captain!” written by Walt Whitman is a short literary work encompassing several complex topics important to each American. It is personal and national mourning for Abraham Lincoln as well as a retrospective of the events of the Civil War and previous major historical events in the United States (Ward). The writer also indirectly describes the historical evolution of the American Dream in the poem.

Whitman’s poem provides a glimpse into the essence of the American Dream and the way people of those times perceived it. The American Dream originally was a concept similar to a new beginning. It was a dream that everyone could take a ship across the ocean to new lands, find their new home, and become successful there (Wang 33). “Our fearful trip is done” line is about that (Whitman). Then, the pursuit of individual freedom, equal socioeconomic opportunities, and the desire to abstract from the old ways of Europe developed into the idea of a democratic society (Wang 33). As a result, the political and social models of North and South, Union and Confederation, began to conflict with each other, leading to the Civil War in which the former won. “The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won” line tells readers about it (Whitman). The ship’s arrival symbolizes the American nation achieving this stage of the American Dream since the Northern States abolished slavery and reunified the country.

It is no secret that the plot revolving around the sudden death of the captain during the triumph in the poem symbolizes Abraham Lincoln and his assassination. Ward notes that “Walt Whitman wrote two memorial poems about the death of Abraham Lincoln.” The literary work under discussion in this paper is one of them. It is noteworthy that these two persons are “often linked as kindred spirits” (“Lincoln, Abraham (1809–1865)”). The death of the captain means not only Lincoln’s assassination but also the end of one of the stages of the American Dream and the beginning of a new one that will be brought to life by the protagonist, every American.

“Lincoln, Abraham (1809–1865).” The Walt Whitman Archive. n.d. Web.

Wang, Yufei. “Exploring the Realization of the American Dream—Taking the Pursuit of Happiness as an Example.” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research: 2020 International Conference on Language, Art and Cultural Exchange (ICLACE 2020) , Shijiazhuang, 2020 . Atlantis Press, 2020, p. 32-36. Web.

Ward, David C. “Two Worlds of Mourning: Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln’s Death.” National Portrait Gallery. n.d. Web.

Whitman, Walt. “O Captain! My Captain!” Poetry Foundation , 1891. Web.

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StudyCorgi. (2022, November 28). “O Captain! My Captain!”: Symbolism, Imagery, and the American Dream. https://studycorgi.com/o-captain-my-captain-symbolism-imagery-and-the-american-dream/

"“O Captain! My Captain!”: Symbolism, Imagery, and the American Dream." StudyCorgi , 28 Nov. 2022, studycorgi.com/o-captain-my-captain-symbolism-imagery-and-the-american-dream/.

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StudyCorgi . "“O Captain! My Captain!”: Symbolism, Imagery, and the American Dream." November 28, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/o-captain-my-captain-symbolism-imagery-and-the-american-dream/.

StudyCorgi . 2022. "“O Captain! My Captain!”: Symbolism, Imagery, and the American Dream." November 28, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/o-captain-my-captain-symbolism-imagery-and-the-american-dream/.

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Frontiers in Educational Research , 2021, 4(5); doi: 10.25236/FER.2021.040510 .

An Analysis of Conceptual Metaphor in Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain! From a Cognitive Perspective

Yang Linyan

Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 011517, China

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From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, this paper takes the image of "captain" in Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Maptain! as the research object, and analyzes the source domain, target domain and their mapping relationship in the poem, aiming to deeply understand the definition and application of conceptual metaphor, and help better understand the poem.

cognition; conceptual metaphor; O Captain! My Captain!

Cite This Paper

Yang Linyan. An Analysis of Conceptual Metaphor in Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain! From a Cognitive Perspective. Frontiers in Educational Research (2021) Vol. 4, Issue 5: 34-37. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2021.040510.

[1] Dirk Geraerts(2006). Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press

[2] Lakoff, G. & M. Johnson (1980). Metaphors We Live By[M]. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

[3] Jiang Renlong(2013). Emotional Interpretation of O Captain! My Captain! from the Perspective of Cognitive Poetics [J]. English Studies

[4] Wei Zaijiang(2008). Metaphor and the Construction of Literary Discourse [J]. Foreign Language and Foreign Language Teaching

[5] Xu Zhimin(2003). On the Aesthetic Value of O Captain! My Captain![J]. Journal of Anyang University, (3):112-113

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Basic analysis of Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!"

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What does the ship represent in O Captain! My Captain!? What about the port? Find out the answers to these questions in the essay below.

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• Imagery in O Captain, My Captain

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Symbolism and imagery are some of the significant elements of style in poetry. In this essay, symbolism and imagery in O Captain, My Captain shall be analyzed in detail. Symbolism element is used to emphasize internalized poetry aspects to describe the feeling and thoughts of a poet due to a lack of better words to describe them.

It uses an object, an idea, a person, or a place to bring out a more profound meaning rather than what it represents itself. Imagery element, on the other hand, uses figurative words to make the reader see things from the poet’s perspective. It emphasized creative speaking or writing, vivid images, suggestions, or descriptive presentation.

It not only needs to be visual but involves all the five senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. The two poetry elements are also referred to as the metaphors in a single terminology. The poet employs the abundant use of imagery and symbolism in passing the message, ideas, and the subject of the poem.

O Captain! My Captain! Symbolism

The first stanza of the poem O Captain, My Captain has a lot of imagery and symbolism depicting the era of Abraham Lincoln. In the first line, the captain is used to symbolize Abraham Lincoln, who was the union leader in the civil war. What does the ship symbolize in O Captain, My Captain? The ship is used to represent America as a country, and the “fearful trip” (Whitman, 2006, p. 1) is a representation of the civil war during the Abraham Lincoln era.

The “prize we sought is won” (Trinh, 2002, p. 1) symbolizes the union victory in freeing the people from slavery during the civil war. “The port is near, the bells I hear, people exulting” (Hennessey, 2001, p. 1) is used to symbolize the jubilation and happiness of the American people since they had overcome the war of slavery and won.

O Captain! My Captain! Imagery

The proceeding lines deliver the captain’s death after the victory of the civil war, which is the main theme of the poem. Repetition of “but O Heart! Heart! Heart! “(Trinh, 2002, p. 1) represents the speakers’ horror to the fact that the captain has died.

Repetition of the word heart with an exclamation mark is an imagery representation of the disbelief in the speakers’ towards his captain’s death. “Bleeding drops of red” (Whitman, 2006, p. 1) is used to represents the captain’s wounded heart and the wounds in the captain’s body. The rhythm portrays the emotion of the speaker and in the country population at large.

The second stanza contrast the two groups emotions, this is made possible through the use of rich imagery to portray the different effect of the president assassination. One group of the crowd is gathering to celebrate the victory of the military that was lead by the dead Lincoln while the other crowd is mourning his death. “Rise up and hear the bells” (Whitman, 2006, p. 1). The bell symbolizes the jubilation by one group and wailing, anguish, and pain of loss in the other group of the population.

Also, the bugle can be taken to represent military calls for victory; they are played at soldiers’ funerals as a sign of honor, and a hero send-off. Wreaths and bouquets is an imagery of the two emotion state the population is going through after the assassination.

One crowd is rejoicing, while the other is mourning the death of the leader Abraham Lincoln. The summary depicts the different reactions by the population to his death. The captain is being referred to as the father by the speaker for the first time in the poem (Trinh, 2002, p. 2). This show Lincoln was not only recognized by the people as their president but also as a mentor of the generation. He symbolizes a new dawn or era in American history, where people are free from slavery.

In the last lines, the speaker is in self-denial concerning the death of Lincoln, he even says it is a dream. In the last line, “You have fallen cold and dead” (Hennessey, 2001, p. 1), it qualifies the speaker state of disbelief concerning the president’s death. He even assumes the president could hear him by talking to his corpse, later it sinks into his mind the president has crossed over to the other world.

His death is what the imagery emphasizes in the last stanza. The speaker describes him as still with pale lips, having no pulse, and he could not feel his arms. This creates a vivid description of a dead body, the narrator speaks from a third persona rather from a first persona as with stanza one and two.

He talks of the population enjoying the newfound freedom from slavery while he suffers the loss from the death of the president, which adds irony to the poem. As the poem finishes, he acknowledges the president is indeed dead, but he continues to mourn (Whitman, 1997, p. 1). Despite the reality of the president being dead, it is clear many are still to come to terms with his death.

The pain and anguish the American population felt after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination were unbearable. It is clear from the poem that it is still hard for them to accept the loss of their hero. The beauty of the poem can be attributed to the vivid expression made possible by the use of symbolism and imagery in the poem.

The essay analyzes imagery and symbolism in the poems and answers significant questions such as “Who Does the Captain Symbolize in O Captain, My Captain ?” The poem is an elegy. It has been used to vividly describe the scenario in America slightly before and after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, who was the president at that time. From the poem, we get a vivid picture of the people’s perception towards their president and also his character.

It is clear from the poem the president was a man of the people, and he was wholly accepted and adored by the majority of the citizens. He represented the people and spoke the people’s language, expressing their views and ideas. Genuinely was the president in representing the people’s concerns who had elected him into office.

Hennessey, M. (2001). O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman. Web.

Trinh, H. (2002). Literary analysis: O Captain, My Captain, by Walt Whitman. Web.

Whitman, W. (1997). O Captain. My Captain. Academy of American Poets. Web.

Whitman, W. (2006). O Captain. My Captain. Analysis. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, May 19). Symbolism and Imagery in O Captain! My Captain! https://ivypanda.com/essays/symbolism-and-imagery/

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — O Captain My Captain — Analysis Of The Poem O Captain! My Captain

Analysis of The Poem O Captain! My Captain

• Categories: O Captain My Captain Poetry Walt Whitman

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Words: 439 |

Published: Aug 6, 2021

Words: 439 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• Whitman, W. (1865). O Captain! My Captain! In Leaves of Grass (pp. 206-207). Thayer & Eldridge.
• Kaplan, J. (2003). Walt Whitman: A Life. Harper Perennial.
• Miller, J. E. (2003). Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" as an Elegy for Abraham Lincoln. Journal of American Culture, 26(3), 387-394.
• Reynolds, D. S. (1995). Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography. Vintage.
• Loving, J. (1999). Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. University of California Press.
• Burroughs, J. (1900). Whitman: A Study. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
• Kaplan, J. (2000). Lincoln in American Memory. University of Chicago Press.
• Krimmel, W. (1971). The Old Public Functionary as Natural Aristocrat: The Captain in Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" American Literature, 43(2), 225-238.
• Callow, P. (1992). Walt Whitman: The Poet and His Critics. Paragon House.
• Loving, J. (1996). Walt Whitman: Song of Himself. University of California Press.

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O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman

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O Captain! My Captain! A Dramatic Adaptation

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