Comparing O Captain ! My Captain And Cool Tombs

Few poems are more well known by Americans other than “O Captain! My Captain!,” especially after the dramatic scene in A Dead Poets Society in which students stand on their desk and profess “O Captain! My Captain!” to protest the decision the headmaster makes to fire their professor. Its basic metaphors can be easily understood by the masses, and it clearly conveys ideas shared by many across the country at the end of the Civil War. However, at a closer inspection, the poem reveals a deeper connection between Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman- a connection Whitman believed only he possessed.

Captain Lincoln Steers the Ship to victory. “Where on the deck my captain lies Fallen cold and dead.”(7-8) This quote from the story refers to the assassination of President Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was President during the Civil War, and is considered to be one of the greatest presidents of all time. President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14,1865 and was in a coma for 9 hours before he died. With the death of the President the nation lost it’s most important man and a great father and husband. The elegy “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman is an extended metaphor about President Lincoln’s presidency because it compares Lincoln to a ships captain, the Union

The poem “For the Union dead” by Robert Lowell is one of the writings whose title is exquisitely regarded. Commencing as a private meditation of his childhood the poet flashbacks on the commitment of Colonel Robert Shaw a union officer who was assassinated during the battalion of the black soldiers during the time of the civil war. Altering from the historical ancient and modern analysis, the poet is depicted lamenting that the heroic nature in the Contemporary America has been eroded. The contemplation of the poem is based on the mark left by the civil war which commemorates the death of Colonel Robert Shaw who died during the time when he was assigned to be the commander of the black regiment. He died because of sacrificing his life for the unity of the nation (Axelrod, 125). Symbolically, his deaths depict the union idealism that existed during that time. In his poem, Lowell shows the contrast that exists between the heroism of Shaw and the modern forms of greed and self-interests that are prevalent in the society. The title of the poem is symbolic in that it depicts that the national unity of America is dead meaning that it no longer exists.

Carl Sandburg is renowned as one of the outstanding and innovative American poets of the twentieth century. Sandburg used his poetry to explicate to the public how life is, can, and could be. “He published many works including: Chicago, The Harbor, Picnic Boat, Gone, They will say, and countless more” (Meltzer 13). Carl Sandburg is widely renowned today for all his accomplishments and works during his lifetime. Few poets could match his skills as a writer and what he was able to accomplish, such as earning the Pulitzer Prize for his collection, The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg, and the Grammy Award for his recording of Aaron Copeland’s Lincoln Portrait with the New York Philharmanic.“Today, Sandburg’s

Walt Whitman and Herman Melville were known for writing poetry about the Civil War. Both writers shared the same views about the harsh effects of war and ultimately wanted to end the suffering. Melville was connected to the anti-war movement because several his relatives were active duty during the Civil War. Furthermore, he believed that the war was the cause of many lives lost and innocence stolen. Walt Whitman was a poet, who also based majority of his work on the Civil War. He could draw from his experiences from his life and infuse them into his work. Based on the events happening around him he became consumed with his thoughts about the war. Whitman started his career as a journalist, one would think that because of the nature of his job he would have been more exposed to the causalities and cruelties of war. He became inspired to learn more and to be more active in the Civil War because of his brother. His brother was significantly injured during the war, seeing what his brother went through to fight for the country caused him to become a volunteer in military hospitals. He became consumed with taking care of the wounded soldiers, this became his passion. Whitman and Melville’s first hand experiences and observations impacted their work, and ultimately became their inspiration for their poems. Walt Whitman and Herman Melville shared common views about war in their poems, such as, Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and “O Captain! My Captain!” and Melville’s “Shiloh”, “The March into Virginia”, and “The College Colonial”.

Theme: The theme of the poem is about the Civil War and also about Abraham Lincoln's assassination. The captain in the poem is actually Abraham Lincoln and the poem is from someone who is sad that Abraham Lincoln died so he couldn't celebrate winning the Civil

A rhetorical analysis explores nonfictional works and determine if the techniques used make the piece effective (Texas A&M University). The Gettysburg Address is one of the most notorious speeches. A rhetorical analysis of this legendary speech would reveal the key components that made it so prominent. The evaluation of the genre, and rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos, and logos, in the speech show how the piece was effective. Abraham Lincoln is one of the most renowned presidents in history. During his term, he delivered one of the most influential speeches that will change the lives of many. He delivered The Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at the dedication for the fallen soldiers (Zimmer). The speech was given following the Battle of Gettysburg at the Soldier’s National Cemetery (Zimmer). He opened the speech with the phrase “Fourscore and seven years ago…” noting the birth of America and why the nation was created, which was to obtain liberty (Yale Law School). Following this statement, he addresses the families of the Union soldiers who fought and lost their lives. Subsequently, the purpose of the speech was to acknowledge the sacrifice made by those soldiers and honor their service to their country. President Lincoln was hoping to ignite an internal fire of motivation in the families to continue the fight of the fallen soldiers for liberty and to not let their sacrifice go in vain.

In Walt Whitman’s elegy, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” the speaker, through the employment of circle and life-death archetypes, shifts from a tone of overwhelming grief over Lincoln’s death to one of acceptance. In the beginning of the poem, Whitman expresses his fondness for lilacs, a symbol of life, and describes his mourning during the cyclical “ever-returning spring.” This shows a deliberate contrast between his sorrow over the “powerful western fallen star,” which represents Lincoln and his death, and the idea of the return (or rebirth) of spring. This perspective changes, however, in the fifth stanza. He refers to “Death’s outlet song of life,” suggesting that he is beginning to regard death as a necessary part of life.

This poem speaks to Abraham Lincoln as a person, this offers a different perspective then O Captain! My Captain as it focuses on Lincoln as a man and his thoughts about morals that were reflected in his policy.

In Walt Whitman’s post-Civil War literature, Whitman responded to the rapid growth of industry and the indifference of both the government and common Americans to the same issues that threatened America’s stability before the war. In Whitman’s “Democratic Vistas,” Whitman criticizes American politics, culture, and values due to the country’s chagrin after the Civil War.

Walt Whitman was a celebrated American Poet who lived during the American Civil War. Whitman is known in history for being one of America’s most influential poets in the 19th century, as well as his humanitarian views on society. These views led him to idolize Abraham Lincoln. “O Captain, My Captain!” was written by Whitman shortly after Lincoln’s death. “In O Captain, My Captain!”, Whitman uses the poem as an elegy to honor Lincoln’s passing and achievements, and document Whitman’s personal reaction to his death. The first signs of the theme are found in the first stanza.

Throughout American literature there are several themes that one can find and explore. All you must do is to look and interpret what you are reading. One such theme is death and the idea of death. Death has always been in the collective conscious of Americans because, it is, well, inevitable. It is most certainly coming for each and every one and is inescapable. A common phrase in today’s culture is “only two things are certain in this world; death and taxes.” Death has always stirred mysticism and aversion, maybe even fear in the hearts of women, men and children alike. Death, in the past, has come sooner to many due to plague, diseases and lesser heath cares so characters in older poems were younger at their time of death. It makes since

Walt Whitman was the quintessential American poet: breaking tradition, creating a unique style, and forging a free-verse pathway defining his work. Although free verse habitations define most of his work, the death of Abraham Lincoln called on him to embrace an unfamiliar rhyme scheme. Whitman had a great admiration for the deceased president, developing a close relationship with the subject of “O Captain! My Captain!”. This is mostly in part due to the common ground shared between the two men, both being strong willed Unionists who were bent on maintaining the United States despite detractors (Hochman). Whitman’s elegy was the send-off to a man he considered a step above the rest, distinguished in class and conduct. Walt Whitman’s elegy served to preserve and promoted the legacy of Abraham Lincoln by using complementing metaphors, and employing a traditional rhyme scheme to broaden the work’s audience.

How does one get through hard times? How can one possibly get over death and despair? Poet and journalist Walt Whitman aimed to transcend traditional epics, and reflect the nature of the American Experience and it’s democracy . Whitman was considered one of America’s most influential poets. The poet wrote his poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” in 1855 after the death of the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War. The short article “The 5 stages of Grief and Loss” by Julie Axelrod was written in May 2016. Even though there is not much describing Axelrod in her about section, one can decipher that she works on the mourning and loss of another and helps to move past. She shows these feelings through all of her articles written for the website, Psych Central. “Oh Captain, My Captain!” by Walt Whitman and Julie Axelrod’s article “The 5 stages of Grief and Loss” both show denial, isolation, and anger. Together, they reflect the theme of grief.

Just as a child would, a country changes as it gets older, and there are many things that contribute to such a change. Some of the events that helped shape American Literature are, The Revolutionary War and The Civil War. The Revolutionary War forced America to forge it's own identity that was still indelibly tied to Great Britain. In the beginning, the American ideal was freedom of religion, rights for the individual, and the idea of a self-governing country; these were the concepts addressed in the Declaration of Independence. Of the two events, The Civil War was more impactful than The Revolutionary War. Single-handedly, The American Civil war changed the course of United States history. Contrary to the Revolutionary War, this was the most divided the country of America ever was and ever would be. This division was primarily based on differing opinions on slavery and states rights. A strong example of the division between the Union and Confederacy is seen in Walt Whitman’s poem “O Captain! My Captain!” “O Captain! My Captain!” was written to express the deep American sadness of losing president Abraham Lincoln. The first stanza is happy and exciting, as the American people are celebrating the end of the war, but then in the final stanza the tone shifts dismally to the allusion of the death of Lincoln. Whitman repeats “O Captain! My Captain!” to add emphasis on how Lincoln was a literal and metaphorical captain to him and the rest of the Union. Of course, this is a heavily