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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..."
O'Captain, My Captain is an extended matephor written by Walt Whitman in 1865 about the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. The work was popular and critically well received on publication, soon becoming Whitman's first to be anthologized as well as the most popular during his lifetime. It was one of the four poems he wrote about the death of the president, alongside When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, Hush'd Be the Camps To-day, and This Dust was Once the Man.
Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won..."
O'Captain, My Captain is an extended matephor written by Walt Whitman in 1865 about the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. The work was popular and critically well received on publication, soon becoming Whitman's first to be anthologized as well as the most popular during his lifetime. It was one of the four poems he wrote about the death of the president, alongside When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, Hush'd Be the Camps To-day, and This Dust was Once the Man.
Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.
2 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1865
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About the author
Walt Whitman
1,752 books5,333 followersWalter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
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November 17, 2016
The poem was written in 1865 as an extended metaphor tribute to the lost president, Abraham Lincoln. Whitman greatly admired Lincoln although they never met.
November 5, 2017
Included in the 1867 printing of Leaves of Grass it's an elegy to the fallen Abraham Lincoln. It reflects the writer's sadness and even despair at the death of the president and also "reflects" the feelings of much of the country.
The poem metaphorically speaks of the recent Civil War/State's War as a stormy sea the Captain has steered the ship (of state) through and safely to port. As all the people rejoice the writer walks the deck mourning his fallen captain.
One of many poems on the subject at the time it speaks well and carries the feeling of the events.
The poem metaphorically speaks of the recent Civil War/State's War as a stormy sea the Captain has steered the ship (of state) through and safely to port. As all the people rejoice the writer walks the deck mourning his fallen captain.
One of many poems on the subject at the time it speaks well and carries the feeling of the events.
June 6, 2019
NI FU NI FA😰
•
Es un pequeño libro recopilatorio de algunos de los poemas {selección a cargo de #ClaudioLópezDeLamadrid} de Walt Whitman.
•
A mí no me ha dicho mucho este recopilatorio, la verdad, entre que Whitman me ha parecido algo espesito a ratos, y que tenía algunas erratas y la traducción me vuelve a fallar {como me pasó con el de Bukowski}, pues no lo he disfrutado mucho.
•
¿Qué encontraréis en este libro? Varios de los poemas más conocidos de unos de los precursores del verso libre.
•
Erratas encontradas: 7 {🤦🏻♀️ ¡psicoanalista ven a mí!}
•
FRASES SUBRAYADAS:
•
“Tú, lector, palpitante vida, orgullo y amor, lo mismo que yo, para ti, pues, los cantos que hay aquí.”
•
“Recuerdo una mañana límpida de estío: posabas la cabeza en mis rodillas, volviéndote con dulzura hacia mí, y entreabriste mi camisa, hundiendo tu lengua pecho adentro, hasta el corazón, y luego te alargaste y te adheriste a mí desde la barba hasta los pies.”
•
“Mar de bruñidas lejanías, mar de ancho jadeo convulso, mar que eres la sal de la vida y de las tumbas siempre abiertas para todos, mar que aúllas y te precipitas en las tormentas, mas, caprichoso y delicado, yo soy igual a ti. Yo también soy de una faz y tengo todas las faces.”
•
“Cuando rozo, palpo o siento con mis dedos, soy feliz. Y tocar otro cuerpo es algo que apenas puedo resistir.”
•
“Os conozco a todos, conozco los mares en borrasca, los mares de la angustia, de la duda, de la desesperación, de la incredulidad.”
•
“El sexo lo contiene todo: cuerpos y almas, ideas, pruebas, purezas, delicadezas, fines, difusiones, cantos, mandatos, salud, orgullo, el misterio de la maternidad, el semen [...]”
•
“[...] brazos y manos del amor, labios del amor, falo del amor, senos del amor, vientres que él amor aprieta uno contra el otro y los funde [...]”
•
#LeoYComparto #bookish #DimeUnLibro #bookaholic #PoesíaExtranjeraContemporánea
•
Es un pequeño libro recopilatorio de algunos de los poemas {selección a cargo de #ClaudioLópezDeLamadrid} de Walt Whitman.
•
A mí no me ha dicho mucho este recopilatorio, la verdad, entre que Whitman me ha parecido algo espesito a ratos, y que tenía algunas erratas y la traducción me vuelve a fallar {como me pasó con el de Bukowski}, pues no lo he disfrutado mucho.
•
¿Qué encontraréis en este libro? Varios de los poemas más conocidos de unos de los precursores del verso libre.
•
Erratas encontradas: 7 {🤦🏻♀️ ¡psicoanalista ven a mí!}
•
FRASES SUBRAYADAS:
•
“Tú, lector, palpitante vida, orgullo y amor, lo mismo que yo, para ti, pues, los cantos que hay aquí.”
•
“Recuerdo una mañana límpida de estío: posabas la cabeza en mis rodillas, volviéndote con dulzura hacia mí, y entreabriste mi camisa, hundiendo tu lengua pecho adentro, hasta el corazón, y luego te alargaste y te adheriste a mí desde la barba hasta los pies.”
•
“Mar de bruñidas lejanías, mar de ancho jadeo convulso, mar que eres la sal de la vida y de las tumbas siempre abiertas para todos, mar que aúllas y te precipitas en las tormentas, mas, caprichoso y delicado, yo soy igual a ti. Yo también soy de una faz y tengo todas las faces.”
•
“Cuando rozo, palpo o siento con mis dedos, soy feliz. Y tocar otro cuerpo es algo que apenas puedo resistir.”
•
“Os conozco a todos, conozco los mares en borrasca, los mares de la angustia, de la duda, de la desesperación, de la incredulidad.”
•
“El sexo lo contiene todo: cuerpos y almas, ideas, pruebas, purezas, delicadezas, fines, difusiones, cantos, mandatos, salud, orgullo, el misterio de la maternidad, el semen [...]”
•
“[...] brazos y manos del amor, labios del amor, falo del amor, senos del amor, vientres que él amor aprieta uno contra el otro y los funde [...]”
•
#LeoYComparto #bookish #DimeUnLibro #bookaholic #PoesíaExtranjeraContemporánea
March 16, 2018
“But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.”
❤️
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.”
❤️
August 21, 2018
Y os digo que también es hermoso sucumbir, que las batallas se pierden con el mismo espíritu con que se ganan.
He escuchado muy buenos comentarios sobre Whitman. Tanto el poeta como su poesía continúan siendo admirados en la actualidad. Esta edición de bolsillo ha sido una lectura bastante ligera y refrescante tras haber leído Moby Dick. La razón principal por la que decidí leer a Whitman es la espectacular película llamada Dead Poets Society, en la cual se hacen continuas referencias a la poesía de Whitman, en especial a la famosa frase ¡Oh, capitán!, ¡mi capitán!.
La más pequeña hojita de hierba nos enseña que la
muerte no existe;
que si alguna vez existió, fue sólo para producir la vida;
que no espera al final del camino para detenerla;
que cesó en el instante de aparecer la vida.
En fin, ha sido una experiencia agradable que sin duda repetiría.
He escuchado muy buenos comentarios sobre Whitman. Tanto el poeta como su poesía continúan siendo admirados en la actualidad. Esta edición de bolsillo ha sido una lectura bastante ligera y refrescante tras haber leído Moby Dick. La razón principal por la que decidí leer a Whitman es la espectacular película llamada Dead Poets Society, en la cual se hacen continuas referencias a la poesía de Whitman, en especial a la famosa frase ¡Oh, capitán!, ¡mi capitán!.
La más pequeña hojita de hierba nos enseña que la
muerte no existe;
que si alguna vez existió, fue sólo para producir la vida;
que no espera al final del camino para detenerla;
que cesó en el instante de aparecer la vida.
En fin, ha sido una experiencia agradable que sin duda repetiría.
February 2, 2013
Teaching this to a class of 7th graders taught me more about this poem than anything ever.
October 26, 2014
¡Oh Whitman, poeta con tus odas a la vida!
Te conocí tras la voz del profesor Keating y sus poetas muertos,
seguiste apareciendo en mis lecturas tras pequeños retazos de tus frases
y así decidí leerte.
Estos poemas fueron tan diversos, no hablaban simplemente del amor sino de la guerra, la muerte, el deseo, la humanidad.
Fueron maravillosos.
Te conocí tras la voz del profesor Keating y sus poetas muertos,
seguiste apareciendo en mis lecturas tras pequeños retazos de tus frases
y así decidí leerte.
Estos poemas fueron tan diversos, no hablaban simplemente del amor sino de la guerra, la muerte, el deseo, la humanidad.
Fueron maravillosos.
August 12, 2017
A mí la poesía no, pero esto pues mira, sí.
Hasta aquí mi crítica en profundidad.
Hasta aquí mi crítica en profundidad.
December 31, 2023
¡Oh, rizada hierba, yo te trataré con amor!
Quizá eres el vello que nace en el pecho de los
adolescentes muertos,
a quienes, habiéndolos conocido, habría amado
Quizá eres el vello que nace en el pecho de los
adolescentes muertos,
a quienes, habiéndolos conocido, habría amado
March 19, 2023
"But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead."
i hate this poem. not because it's bad, but because it's brilliantly sad. when i read it, i think of robin williams, and it just guts me. this poem is so memorable. it will be one of the best and one of my favorites forever.
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead."
i hate this poem. not because it's bad, but because it's brilliantly sad. when i read it, i think of robin williams, and it just guts me. this poem is so memorable. it will be one of the best and one of my favorites forever.
December 18, 2017
Nos decimos: Recordad, no temáis, sed sinceros, mostrad el cuerpo y el alma,
demorad un rato y pasad, sed copiosos, sobrios, castos, magnéticos,
y que lo que ofrezcáis vuelva como vuelven las estaciones,
y que sea como ellas.
demorad un rato y pasad, sed copiosos, sobrios, castos, magnéticos,
y que lo que ofrezcáis vuelva como vuelven las estaciones,
y que sea como ellas.
March 10, 2022
This is an amazing poem. Certainly one of the most iconic. There's really nothing to be gained by boiling it down to a haiku. . .
I gave it a shot anyway.
"Cold glory of what's won,
Pink of a new dawn tainted,
By who won’t meet it."
I gave it a shot anyway.
"Cold glory of what's won,
Pink of a new dawn tainted,
By who won’t meet it."
December 24, 2015
Wasn`t bad...Wasn`t bad at all...But i think that the problem is in me though - I`ve never been a poetry lover...But I think I might get a little deeper in this :)
September 27, 2021
The poem stirs the reader with its utter despondent tone throughout its entirety. Whitman is the new-age poet, committed to breaking away from the shackles of established poetic practices and forming new ones, just as America is created for a different purpose, tearing away from the bondage of colonialism and steering clear of undermining the proletarian class.
Alternatively, Whitman uses similar poetic devices as that of William Wordsworth and Dante Alighieri. Speaking in the language of ordinary men, Whitman aspired to become the voice of the nation, speaking on the behest of the American population at the time.
Consequently, he has recorded the events, moods and character of the time superbly. Saddened by the results of first American civil war, Whitman wrote an elegy in memory of deceased American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The civil war occurred during his lifetime with Whitman a staunch supporter of unionist through and through.
The opening lines of the poem serve to begin the controlling metaphor upon which the rest of the poem builds. A metaphor is simply a figure of speech in which one thing is substituted for another, and a calculating metaphor is a metaphor that forces, directs, or unifies the entire poem.
In this poem, the “Captain” is a replacement for Abraham Lincoln, and the “ship” is the United States of America. “The fearful trip” is the Civil War, which had ended just prior to Lincoln’s assassination. Thus the ship is returning home to reassuring crowds having won “the prize” of victory, just as the Union, led by Lincoln, had returned triumphant from the Civil War. The utterance “O Captain! My Captain” is predominantly interesting in this light.
In one sense the speaker is addressing his Captain straightforwardly, but in another respect he seems to be speaking to himself about his Captain. The repetition helps to emphasize the indecision he feels at the Captain’s loss.
Lines 5-8 correspond the obnoxious news that the Captain has somehow fallen dead after the battle. More importantly, the repetition “heart! heart! heart!” talks of the speaker’s consternation and revulsion at realizing that his Captain has died.
The poem is then as much about the “I” of the poem and how he comes to terms with his misery, how he processes this information, as it is about the central figure of the Captain.
The “bleeding drops of red” are both the Captain’s bleeding wounds and the speakers wounded heart. These lines function as a broken heroic couplet, a two-line rhymed verse that originated in heroic epic poetry and is frequently, as is the case with these lines, written in iambic pentameter.
The broken lines are called ‘hemistiches’ and are commonly used, as they are here, to the underlying rhythm of the poem and to suggest emotional upheaval.
In this pivotal second stanza, the speaker of the poem beseeches his Captain to “Rise up and hear the bells.” In essence, the speaker laments that his Captain, having led his crew courageously to triumph, will not receive the trumpet blast that is his just due.
At the same time Whitman blends two distinct scenes:
1) where crowds gather to receive and rejoice the Captain (Lincoln) upon his return from military victory; and
2) in which the bells of the second stanza are apparently the bells rang in celebration of military victory; however, knowing the great Captain and leader has died the bells might also symbolize funeral bells tolled in mourning.
Similarly, the “flag” is flown in honor of the Captain both as a symbol of rejoicing and victory and as a symbol of lamentation — as in the tradition of flying the American flag at half-mast when a respected American dies.
The bugle, a characteristically military musical instrument, alludes to both military victory and to “Taps,” the elegy customarily played at funerals of fallen soldiers. Bouquets and wreathes are also common to both celebratory receptions and funerals.
Finally, the multitudes of people become symbolic as well. Not only are they representative of the people who welcomed and rejoiced at the Union’s victory in the Civil War, but they represent the throngs of people who gathered across the nation to mournfully view Lincoln’s coffin as it was taken by train from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois.
The crowds remind the reader that the speaker of the poem is not alone in lamenting his Captain’s death, but rather shares this experience with the masses.
In this manner the poem is in keeping with Whitman’s experience. The poet himself had a powerful personal reaction to the news of Lincoln’s death. Lincoln was the Captain and father- figure of an entire nation and so the poet’s grief, while central to the poem, is shared by the rest of the country.
In the next group of lines, the speaker of the poem again entreats his Captain to “hear.” In this case he may be referring to the bells of the first stanza, or perhaps to himself, his pleas. More importantly, the speaker for the first time calls his Captain “father.”
In this manner, Whitman expands the metaphor for Lincoln beyond the more limited scope of a military leader of men into a father figure, one whose wisdom and teachings led his children into adulthood.
The poem celebrates Lincoln as more than simply a great military leader who led the Union to victory during the Civil War and attaches to him a broader significance as the father of this new, posts slavery country.
In Lines 15-16 the speaker asserts that this must all be a bad dream. Here the poem captures the speaker’s denial; the emotional impact of Lincoln’s demise has made it almost impossible for the speaker to accept.
The refrain “fallen cold and dead,” is slightly altered in this stanza in that it is apparently addressed to the Captain. The effect is to again reinforce the speaker’s difficulty in coming to terms with his Captain’s death; even though his Captain is dead, the speaker continues to speak to him as though he were alive.
The speaker of the poem is no longer able to hold out hope and faces up to the reality of his Captain’s death. The details and images evoked in these lines all serve to reiterate that the Captain is deceased: his pallid lips, lack of a pulse, and lack of will.
Unlike the two previous stanzas, the speaker in no way addresses his Captain directly but speaks of him entirely in the third- person. In this sense, he has finally accepted that his Captain is dead.
Having finally faced up to his Captain’s death, the speaker then turns his attention back to the recent victory.
Lines 19-24 suggest again the internal division suffered by the speaker of the poem. Having accepted that his Captain is indeed dead, it would seem he can now return his attention to the military victory. After all, one could surely argue that the plight of an entire nation of people far outweighs the fate of a single man.
Nevertheless, the speaker of the poem chooses the individual over the larger nation. While “Exult O shores, and ring O bells” is explicitly a call for rejoicing, the speaker himself will not celebrate but will walk “with mournful tread,” knowing that his Captain is indeed “Fallen cold and dead.”
The speaker thus celebrates the end of the Civil War but continues to express his need to mourn his fallen hero.
A startling aspect of this poem is that the speaker shows such commitment his fallen leader, referring to him as “my Captain” and even “my father.” death, as a matter of fact, is sufficiently striking that it balances out the victory that is portrayed here as a voyage so successful that crowds eagerly cheer as the ship docks.
As a tribute to President Lincoln, a man whom Whitman never met once in his life, this poem shows more fierce loyalty ran could even be expected from actual ship’s crews or actual sons; it is a loyalty that does show itself sometimes in political followers. Whitman was politically involved, which was a part of his passion for life, and his enthusiasm was particularly sparked by Lincoln, who represented all that he thought a president should be.
As early as 1855, in his essay “The Eighteenth Presidency,” Whitman showed absolute, vinegary disgust with the quality of men who had been holding the highest office in the land. In that essay he asks, “Where is the spirit of manliness and common sense of These Sates? It does not appear in the government. It does not appear at all in the presidency.”
At times in that essay, Whitman’s annoyance and talent for metaphor took him beyond the spirit of analysis, down near a level of name-calling. The President,” he wrote, expressing sadness at Franklin Pierce’s policies of appeasing slave owners, “eats dirt and excrement for his daily meals, likes t. and tries to force it on The State.”
It is barely surprising that Whitman would feel, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, that at last someone what snared his spirit, courage, and love of democracy had finally arrived.
The art of loyalty described in this poem does not come from observing the world passively: it grows out of dealing with one disappointment after another and lastly finding one’s ideal turned into reality.
Alternatively, Whitman uses similar poetic devices as that of William Wordsworth and Dante Alighieri. Speaking in the language of ordinary men, Whitman aspired to become the voice of the nation, speaking on the behest of the American population at the time.
Consequently, he has recorded the events, moods and character of the time superbly. Saddened by the results of first American civil war, Whitman wrote an elegy in memory of deceased American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The civil war occurred during his lifetime with Whitman a staunch supporter of unionist through and through.
The opening lines of the poem serve to begin the controlling metaphor upon which the rest of the poem builds. A metaphor is simply a figure of speech in which one thing is substituted for another, and a calculating metaphor is a metaphor that forces, directs, or unifies the entire poem.
In this poem, the “Captain” is a replacement for Abraham Lincoln, and the “ship” is the United States of America. “The fearful trip” is the Civil War, which had ended just prior to Lincoln’s assassination. Thus the ship is returning home to reassuring crowds having won “the prize” of victory, just as the Union, led by Lincoln, had returned triumphant from the Civil War. The utterance “O Captain! My Captain” is predominantly interesting in this light.
In one sense the speaker is addressing his Captain straightforwardly, but in another respect he seems to be speaking to himself about his Captain. The repetition helps to emphasize the indecision he feels at the Captain’s loss.
Lines 5-8 correspond the obnoxious news that the Captain has somehow fallen dead after the battle. More importantly, the repetition “heart! heart! heart!” talks of the speaker’s consternation and revulsion at realizing that his Captain has died.
The poem is then as much about the “I” of the poem and how he comes to terms with his misery, how he processes this information, as it is about the central figure of the Captain.
The “bleeding drops of red” are both the Captain’s bleeding wounds and the speakers wounded heart. These lines function as a broken heroic couplet, a two-line rhymed verse that originated in heroic epic poetry and is frequently, as is the case with these lines, written in iambic pentameter.
The broken lines are called ‘hemistiches’ and are commonly used, as they are here, to the underlying rhythm of the poem and to suggest emotional upheaval.
In this pivotal second stanza, the speaker of the poem beseeches his Captain to “Rise up and hear the bells.” In essence, the speaker laments that his Captain, having led his crew courageously to triumph, will not receive the trumpet blast that is his just due.
At the same time Whitman blends two distinct scenes:
1) where crowds gather to receive and rejoice the Captain (Lincoln) upon his return from military victory; and
2) in which the bells of the second stanza are apparently the bells rang in celebration of military victory; however, knowing the great Captain and leader has died the bells might also symbolize funeral bells tolled in mourning.
Similarly, the “flag” is flown in honor of the Captain both as a symbol of rejoicing and victory and as a symbol of lamentation — as in the tradition of flying the American flag at half-mast when a respected American dies.
The bugle, a characteristically military musical instrument, alludes to both military victory and to “Taps,” the elegy customarily played at funerals of fallen soldiers. Bouquets and wreathes are also common to both celebratory receptions and funerals.
Finally, the multitudes of people become symbolic as well. Not only are they representative of the people who welcomed and rejoiced at the Union’s victory in the Civil War, but they represent the throngs of people who gathered across the nation to mournfully view Lincoln’s coffin as it was taken by train from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois.
The crowds remind the reader that the speaker of the poem is not alone in lamenting his Captain’s death, but rather shares this experience with the masses.
In this manner the poem is in keeping with Whitman’s experience. The poet himself had a powerful personal reaction to the news of Lincoln’s death. Lincoln was the Captain and father- figure of an entire nation and so the poet’s grief, while central to the poem, is shared by the rest of the country.
In the next group of lines, the speaker of the poem again entreats his Captain to “hear.” In this case he may be referring to the bells of the first stanza, or perhaps to himself, his pleas. More importantly, the speaker for the first time calls his Captain “father.”
In this manner, Whitman expands the metaphor for Lincoln beyond the more limited scope of a military leader of men into a father figure, one whose wisdom and teachings led his children into adulthood.
The poem celebrates Lincoln as more than simply a great military leader who led the Union to victory during the Civil War and attaches to him a broader significance as the father of this new, posts slavery country.
In Lines 15-16 the speaker asserts that this must all be a bad dream. Here the poem captures the speaker’s denial; the emotional impact of Lincoln’s demise has made it almost impossible for the speaker to accept.
The refrain “fallen cold and dead,” is slightly altered in this stanza in that it is apparently addressed to the Captain. The effect is to again reinforce the speaker’s difficulty in coming to terms with his Captain’s death; even though his Captain is dead, the speaker continues to speak to him as though he were alive.
The speaker of the poem is no longer able to hold out hope and faces up to the reality of his Captain’s death. The details and images evoked in these lines all serve to reiterate that the Captain is deceased: his pallid lips, lack of a pulse, and lack of will.
Unlike the two previous stanzas, the speaker in no way addresses his Captain directly but speaks of him entirely in the third- person. In this sense, he has finally accepted that his Captain is dead.
Having finally faced up to his Captain’s death, the speaker then turns his attention back to the recent victory.
Lines 19-24 suggest again the internal division suffered by the speaker of the poem. Having accepted that his Captain is indeed dead, it would seem he can now return his attention to the military victory. After all, one could surely argue that the plight of an entire nation of people far outweighs the fate of a single man.
Nevertheless, the speaker of the poem chooses the individual over the larger nation. While “Exult O shores, and ring O bells” is explicitly a call for rejoicing, the speaker himself will not celebrate but will walk “with mournful tread,” knowing that his Captain is indeed “Fallen cold and dead.”
The speaker thus celebrates the end of the Civil War but continues to express his need to mourn his fallen hero.
A startling aspect of this poem is that the speaker shows such commitment his fallen leader, referring to him as “my Captain” and even “my father.” death, as a matter of fact, is sufficiently striking that it balances out the victory that is portrayed here as a voyage so successful that crowds eagerly cheer as the ship docks.
As a tribute to President Lincoln, a man whom Whitman never met once in his life, this poem shows more fierce loyalty ran could even be expected from actual ship’s crews or actual sons; it is a loyalty that does show itself sometimes in political followers. Whitman was politically involved, which was a part of his passion for life, and his enthusiasm was particularly sparked by Lincoln, who represented all that he thought a president should be.
As early as 1855, in his essay “The Eighteenth Presidency,” Whitman showed absolute, vinegary disgust with the quality of men who had been holding the highest office in the land. In that essay he asks, “Where is the spirit of manliness and common sense of These Sates? It does not appear in the government. It does not appear at all in the presidency.”
At times in that essay, Whitman’s annoyance and talent for metaphor took him beyond the spirit of analysis, down near a level of name-calling. The President,” he wrote, expressing sadness at Franklin Pierce’s policies of appeasing slave owners, “eats dirt and excrement for his daily meals, likes t. and tries to force it on The State.”
It is barely surprising that Whitman would feel, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, that at last someone what snared his spirit, courage, and love of democracy had finally arrived.
The art of loyalty described in this poem does not come from observing the world passively: it grows out of dealing with one disappointment after another and lastly finding one’s ideal turned into reality.
August 3, 2024
Perfecto acercamiento para conocer qué ofrece Whitman -sus distintas voces-. Es cierto que tiene una espiritualidad marcadamente cristiana y que le excita impúdicamente la democracia estadounidense. Por suerte, también tiene una de esas sensibilidades conflictuadas, un modo propio de amar en sus versos, que por momentos te regala un instante de paz hasta que, de repente, se pone a hablar de cómo quiere dejar preñado a alguien. Ahora en serio, es un poeta tierno con algunos versos perfectos y algunos poemas un tanto vergonzosos -al menos, para mí. Eso sí, una vez lo terminas, no puedes ignorar ese resquemor de no haberlo leído en inglés. Seguro que gana enteros en su idioma original, aunque puede ser perfectamente una vana esperanza.
May 25, 2022
A tribute to the death of Abraham Lincoln "Oh Captain! My Captain! is one of Walt Whitman's standout poems.
Filled with sadness and respect from start to finish it might be his most moving piece.
Filled with sadness and respect from start to finish it might be his most moving piece.
January 11, 2017
Personal Response: While I'm regularly not a poetry person, I decided to read Oh Captain! My Captain! and found it semi-entertaining. I really think that the author should have somehow incorporated how the captain died somewhere within the poem.
Plot Summary: A captain and his son (along with an assumed crew) are welcomed back from a voyage, and the captain dies. While there are definitely mentions of the captain dying, there is no mention of as to how he died. The townspeople then have a funeral for the captain, and throw bouquets and wreaths to his dead corpse to show their remorse. The son then states that he mourns his father's death as he sees his father, the captain, dead.
Characterization: There are two real characters within the poem: The captain and his son.
The Captain: Because the captain dies, many people show up to his funeral. Because of this, we can assume that he was a very well known person. The poem states also states that there were bouquets and wreaths thrown to the shores to honor the man's death. He was a well-known person that died, and the town came to honor him within his last moment.
The Son: Throughout the poem, the Son refers to his father as both his Captain AND his father. This shows that he has a very strong respect for his father. The way that things are phrased throughout the poem makes me think that he feels a lot of remorse for his dead father.
Recommendations: I would recommend this poem to someone who regularly reads poetry. It's a quick poem that flows nicely. If you don't regularly read poetry, give it a read anyways. All in all, it's a pretty good poem.
Plot Summary: A captain and his son (along with an assumed crew) are welcomed back from a voyage, and the captain dies. While there are definitely mentions of the captain dying, there is no mention of as to how he died. The townspeople then have a funeral for the captain, and throw bouquets and wreaths to his dead corpse to show their remorse. The son then states that he mourns his father's death as he sees his father, the captain, dead.
Characterization: There are two real characters within the poem: The captain and his son.
The Captain: Because the captain dies, many people show up to his funeral. Because of this, we can assume that he was a very well known person. The poem states also states that there were bouquets and wreaths thrown to the shores to honor the man's death. He was a well-known person that died, and the town came to honor him within his last moment.
The Son: Throughout the poem, the Son refers to his father as both his Captain AND his father. This shows that he has a very strong respect for his father. The way that things are phrased throughout the poem makes me think that he feels a lot of remorse for his dead father.
Recommendations: I would recommend this poem to someone who regularly reads poetry. It's a quick poem that flows nicely. If you don't regularly read poetry, give it a read anyways. All in all, it's a pretty good poem.
December 5, 2017
"O Captain! My Captain!"
By 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,
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.
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...
By 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,
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.
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...
June 1, 2017
Acostumbro leer poemarios y marcar (con una banderita) aquellos textos que hicieron resonancia en mí, pero está vez, sólo puse un marcador en su portada; pues cada página en su interior bien merece distinción.
Suelo describir a la poesía como la única verdad que los hombres pueden (y a la vez no) poseer, sin embargo con Whitman no queda más que decir: que él fue uno de los inventores/renovadores de esa verdad, un patriarca, filántropo y panteísta en cada verso. Su cosmovisión (optimista) me cautivó.
Una lectura imprescindible para quien gusta de la poesía.
Suelo describir a la poesía como la única verdad que los hombres pueden (y a la vez no) poseer, sin embargo con Whitman no queda más que decir: que él fue uno de los inventores/renovadores de esa verdad, un patriarca, filántropo y panteísta en cada verso. Su cosmovisión (optimista) me cautivó.
Una lectura imprescindible para quien gusta de la poesía.
October 12, 2016
A poem dedicated to Abraham Lincoln.
December 9, 2018
This here might just be my most favorite poem I've ever read.
April 23, 2023
¿Solo se pueden 5 ⭐️? No es justo.
Tras escuchar a tantos poetas que uno de sus referentes era Walt Whitman, un día fue Whitman quien me encontró. Y era 21 de marzo, Día Mundial de la Poesía. Y el poemario por el que quería empezar.
Los últimos cinco o seis poemas serán de lo mejor que habréis leído y recitado en mucho tiempo (no sé vosotros pero yo si no leo en voz alta, no es lo mismo), os lo aseguro. Uno de ellos se titula: "Espontáneo yo" donde fusiona con tremenda dulzura y delicadeza los placeres de la naturaleza con los de la vida. Te deja reconfortada. Deja a su paso un destello de luz y de paz que hace que todo lo demás no exista. Consigue que te transportes a los escenarios que él mismo describe.
El poema que da nombre es simplemente apoteósico, brillante.
Lo reelería un millón de veces más para entenderlo mejor. Antes de "despedirme" os dejo con un par de versos que... mejor juzgad vosotros. 🥹🧩
[...] que el mundo no es un caos,
que es forma, unidad, plan, vida eterna. ¡Alegría!
Ni sospecháis mi grandeza. No quiero decir quién soy en realidad.
🐉🌹💚
Tras escuchar a tantos poetas que uno de sus referentes era Walt Whitman, un día fue Whitman quien me encontró. Y era 21 de marzo, Día Mundial de la Poesía. Y el poemario por el que quería empezar.
Los últimos cinco o seis poemas serán de lo mejor que habréis leído y recitado en mucho tiempo (no sé vosotros pero yo si no leo en voz alta, no es lo mismo), os lo aseguro. Uno de ellos se titula: "Espontáneo yo" donde fusiona con tremenda dulzura y delicadeza los placeres de la naturaleza con los de la vida. Te deja reconfortada. Deja a su paso un destello de luz y de paz que hace que todo lo demás no exista. Consigue que te transportes a los escenarios que él mismo describe.
El poema que da nombre es simplemente apoteósico, brillante.
Lo reelería un millón de veces más para entenderlo mejor. Antes de "despedirme" os dejo con un par de versos que... mejor juzgad vosotros. 🥹🧩
[...] que el mundo no es un caos,
que es forma, unidad, plan, vida eterna. ¡Alegría!
Ni sospecháis mi grandeza. No quiero decir quién soy en realidad.
🐉🌹💚
December 15, 2017
What does a man feel when he's accomplished all the feats he has had to confront but has lost someone very important in the process?
Whitman perfectly expresses this struggle in "Oh Captain! My Captain", where the external celebration of the surrounding people and ship crew contrasts his desperation for his dear captain's death.
The entire poem however is metaphorically paying tribute to Abraham Lincoln, the leader of the Civil War, whose assassination is mourned in the heart of all those who lost the guide to their American voyage.
Whitman perfectly expresses this struggle in "Oh Captain! My Captain", where the external celebration of the surrounding people and ship crew contrasts his desperation for his dear captain's death.
The entire poem however is metaphorically paying tribute to Abraham Lincoln, the leader of the Civil War, whose assassination is mourned in the heart of all those who lost the guide to their American voyage.
Read
September 5, 2021For American lit class
November 11, 2023
RIP neil perry you wouldve loved Queering the Map.
July 24, 2025
cried
August 24, 2025
3.25! 🌟 no notes just vibes
October 26, 2022
It is beyond me how Whitman created a masterpiece in only 3 stanzas which still moves me to this day. I cannot help but repeating the lines over in my head throughout my daily life, and I still feel I have no idea what it truly means! Never the less, this poem is a work of art and one of few things that actually makes me proud to be human. I cannot recommend a more vibrant, deep, and strong poem than Oh Captain! My Captain!
January 7, 2011
Lo amo
è il mio 51 libro...sì...l'ultimo che completa il mio obiettivo personale insieme agli altri 50. Come avevo deciso all'inizio del 2009. E non poteva essere il più adatto.
Al più presto mi procurerò la produzione completa e approfondita di questo grandissimo "poeta moderno". Quello che ho letto qui è solo l'inizio.
è il mio 51 libro...sì...l'ultimo che completa il mio obiettivo personale insieme agli altri 50. Come avevo deciso all'inizio del 2009. E non poteva essere il più adatto.
Al più presto mi procurerò la produzione completa e approfondita di questo grandissimo "poeta moderno". Quello che ho letto qui è solo l'inizio.
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