Whitman,+Walt

=O Captain My Captain=


 * Summary**


 * O Captain My Captain** is an __elegy__ about Lincoln’s assassination. Whitman expresses his grief about Abraham Lincoln’s death after the Civil War. This poem is a metaphor with the Captain representing Lincoln and the ship representing the United States. The poem talks about how the United States has overcome the Civil War and is __rejoicing__ about the **accomplishment but** then Lincoln is assassinated. Although Whitman should have been happy about the accomplishment like the rest of the United States, he is overwhelmed with grief about Lincoln's death. Whitman goes back and forth, expressing the joy that came with the finishing of the Civil War and the sadness that came with Lincoln's death. The "ship" has won and is anchored safe and sound. However the "Captain" has 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;"
 * Correlation**

"O captain my Captain!"

"But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead."

By Whitman calling Lincoln "My Captain" and "My father", shows that Whitman admired Lincoln. In the poem, Whitman is overcome with sadness from Lincoln’s assassination, rather than being relieved that the civil war is over. //O captain My Captain// is not the only elegy Whitman has written about **Lincoln, he** also wrote //When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.// The death of Lincoln seems to have made an impact on Whitman's life and writing. "After my dear, dear mother, I guess Lincoln gets almost nearer me than anybody else" (Traubel 38). __GOOD to include__ This quote made by Whitman, justifies Whitman’s fondness of Lincoln. Whitman uses apostrophe in his poem, such as "O captain my Captain!". The figure he is trying to address to is Lincoln. The use of apostrophes seem to be a common technique in Whitman’s poems. He also uses apostrophe in his other poem, //Pioneer! O Pioneers//.

At first this poem may appear to be just the death of a captain on his ship, but it is much more. I thought Whitman’s use of symbols was clever. I felt kind of sorrowful as I was reading this **poem, I got** a sense of the grief Whitman must have felt. If Whitman truly admired Lincoln as he describes in his poems, I can understand why the wrap up of the civil war had little significance to him at the time. I think grief is something that comes hand in hand with death. I can only imagine the amount that would come with the death of a figure which one admired greatly. I do not think Whitman was the only one **that** felt pain after Lincoln’s death, because Lincoln was well-loved president. Reading this poem reminded me of all the books I read on Lincoln when I was younger. I remember students would always choose Abraham Lincoln for biography projects. After reading this poem, I want to watch the movie **The Day Lincoln was Shot. What is this? **
 * Reflection**

http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_30.html