O Captain My Captain Poem

First of all, “O Captain, My Captain” uses extended metaphors, while “Shiloh: A Requiem” does not. Walt Whitman uses many extended metaphors, such as “Captain” referring to Abraham Lincoln, and “fearful trip” meaning the Civil War. This shows how “O Captain, My Captain” uses extended metaphors to give the poem a deeper meaning than it seems. Meanwhile, Herman Melville does not use extended metaphors in his poem. Additionally, “Shiloh: A Requiem” uses personification to convey the mood, and “O Captain, My Captain” does not. For example, Herman Melville uses the phrase “The church so lone” to help convey the mood. This shows personification because loneliness is an emotion, and an inanimate object cannot feel emotions. However, “O Captain, My Captain” does not use personification in the poem. In conclusion, this shows that the two authors use unique means to get their messages

How does Walt Whitman use figurative language in O Captain! My Captain! to impact the readers. One of the first examples of figurative language in O Captain! my Captain! is an allusion. Two allusions are located on the second line in the first stanza, it says “The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,”. Whitman's uses of allusions are easier to understand if you know history because the ship represents the nation and the prize was the win of the Civil War. Walt Whitman used allusions because if they are constructed well then, the reader may feel more apart of the story and it can capture their attention to keep them interested. Another example of figurative language in the poem is imagery. One use of imagery I found was

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

Source One is about the journey of Lincoln in the Civil War and he’s trying to save America. In Source One it says “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.” In this poem Abraham Lincoln is the captain who is fighting through his trip, which is personified as the Civil War. The ship is the United States fighting through the brutal and dangerous war. Lincoln was the figure that most people followed, while some people hated him for giving rights to colored people. Even though he was said horrible things and the country divided for the freedom of slaves Lincoln still fought for what he thought was right. After Lincoln’s death and accomplishment of freeing slaves he didn’t get to see the happiness and and the honor he deserved. Furthermore, after the fearful trip was done, Lincoln was able to write the Emancipation Proclamation which gave everyone

Walt Whitman’s essay, Death of Abraham Lincoln, explains what Lincoln brought to our nation through his life and what he left behind through his death. Whitman observes Lincoln from afar, noticing the reactions a crowd has to his presence. He expresses the importance of first impressions through the awkward silence of the streets and crowds when Lincoln walks out of his unprepossessing carriage on his way to the Astor House prior to his inauguration. Lincoln’s presence took over the moment unlike any figure had before. On the day of April 14, 1865, Whitman recalls his sight of beautiful lilacs at the time of the harrowing event and how this alluring flower became a symbol for him. The lilacs represented the great tragedy on that spring day with their sight or even just with the presence of their soft scent. Whitman was extremely inspired by both the life and death of Abraham Lincoln. Still to this day, Lincoln is known as one of the greatest Presidents to exist in our country and Whitman portrays him as more important than any other heroic figure in our past. In comparison, President Warren G. Harding is known as one of the worst presidents who corrupted our nation. Unlike Lincoln, who is responsible for the emancipation of three million slaves and known as the savior of our union, President Harding was involved in scandals across the nation and is known for his shady presidency. Although Lincoln’s death brought hardship and grief to our country, Harding’s death may

Walt Whitman, a democratic poet, celebrated himself and his connection with the world by writing “Song of Myself” in 1855. According to Eric Forsythe, “Throughout the poem, Whitman probes the question of how large the new democratic self can become before it dissipates into contradiction and fragmentation, and each time he seems to reach the limit, he dilates even more” (Forsythe). The poem shaped the idea of what it meant to be an American, by bringing citizens together. It also foreshadowed the Civil War, which began in 1861, through a symbol of grass. In “Song of Myself,” Whitman’s themes of individualism and carpe diem developed from the transcendentalist movement.

Walt Whitman believed everyone was equal and was a big fan of Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln’s assassination Whitman wrote many poems to describe the travel of Lincoln’s body back to Springfield including “Drum Taps”. According to Martin Griffin of the New York Times “Oh Captain! My Captain” was the only short poem about Lincoln to become well known. Although Whitman never directly met Lincoln, he had seen

“O Captain! my Captain! Our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.” Walt Whitman, an American essayist, poet, and journalist, illustrates Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishment of saving the Union, and he captures the variety of emotions that it provoked. Still, Lincoln is remembered as a legend, and his political endeavors are highly emphasized in American history. Although the vast majority of people agree that Lincoln was, indeed, a heroic man, some question the importance of his undertakings. Lincoln’s actions, such as continuing with the presidential election, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, and delivering the Gettysburg Address, are what make him a legend.

Even though the southerners are technically his enemy, he still loves them tenderly as he would his own kin. His family has been killed at the hands of his family. There were many pale-faced men as this who were unfortunate victims of civil warfare. This is a terrible tragedy, and Whitman challenges this by asking what happens after these "hard-fought engagements or sieges tremendous? What deepest remains" (The Wound-Dresser, l 12)? The answer, only those who survive to tell the tale remain. Is it really something to celebrate after massacring your fellow countrymen? One might point out the heroics and bravery exhibited in the war, men have been made stronger and is just a growing experience for the country, but "was one side so brave? The other was equally brave" (The Wound-Dresser, l 8). The heroics and bravery are without direction in this war. If you commit a great act of sacrifice, then the results only hurt those whom you share land with, your countrymen, your brethren. Whitman grieves for these people, "for my enemy is dead. A man as divine as myself is dead" (Reconciliation, l 4). There is no purpose to this feud; it has extinguished a man, who is an equal, from this world. By speaking of his enemies as his equals and as divine as himself, he captures their humanity and in effect how inhumane it is to destroy them utterly. Through this portrayal of parity in the humanness of those who endure torture, Whitman thrusts out that the war ultimately

In the poem Lincoln is the captain of the ship, which is an analogy of Lincoln’s leadership to this country. When Abraham Lincoln died it was like the captain of the “ship of America” died. Lincoln was such a good leader that his death almost made people feel helpless and in denial. The last three lines of “O Captain! My Captain!” are an example of how Lincoln’s death affected Whitman: “But I, with mournful tread, / Walk the deck my Captain lies, / Fallen cold and dead.”.

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.”( Bio. A&E Television Networks 1) Walt Whitman's life was a representation of his famous quote. Whitman lived his life looking toward the future waiting for his radical ideas to become reality. Walt Whitman was arguably the best writer in United States history, and has written many famous pieces in the American Realism era. Whitman suffered through the Civil War, where brothers would often turn against brothers to fight for opposing sides. Walt Whitman rose up through turbulence of the Civil War during the American Realism era to write, “O CAPTAIN! My Captain!”(Whitman 1), a poem that illustrates a nation morning for their fallen leader.

In his essay “Death of Abraham Lincoln”, Walt Whitman recalls the first time he ever saw the future president elect when Lincoln silently passed through New York City on his way to Washington D. C. Then Whitman remarks on the rapid succession of the well-known, recent, and still yet painful events of the Civil War. The strata of session sympathizers, the assassination of Lincoln at Ford’s theatre by John Wilkes Booth five days after the end of the Civil War, and the effect Lincoln’s death will forever have on our nation. Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist-in addition to publishing his poetry- was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. The Civil war lasted from 1861 to 1865 and was the result of four

America experienced profound changes during the mid 1800’s. New technologies and ideas helped the nation grow, while the Civil War ripped the nation apart. During this tumultuous period, two great American writers captured their ideas in poetry. Their poems give us insight into the time period, as well as universal insight about life. Although polar opposites in personality, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman created similar poetry. Dickinson’s “Hope is a Thing with Feathers” and Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” share many qualities.

If one listens closely, they can hear America’s song. The words, like thunder, comprise the groans of the slave, the cheers of the free, and the unmistakable sounds of the brave. The music rings out as clear as day; it is composed by the growing children and the dying men. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes captured the essence of these songs in their respective works, “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too, Sing America.” The first describes the melodies of a working nation, the “the wood-cutter’s song” and the “delicious singing of the mother” (Whitman 7-8). The quiet musings of a young African American make up the latter; it is a hymn of hushed hope for tomorrow. Although the two poems stand alone, both Whitman’s and Hughes's works powerfully capture the song of America through the sense of pride found in each piece, the uses of different literary elements, and their individual views of the nation.

President Abraham Lincoln, admired by Walt Whitman, blossomed in “Whitman's writing and in American mythology”(Eiselein) for his leadership and nobility. Whitman hoped for a rugged, healthy, who knew what real, physical work was, to be the “[r]edeemer [p]resident of [t]hese [s]tates”(Whitman). His hopes came true “as in a dream”(Whitman) when “four years later, just such a beard-faced boatman”(Goodheart) entered the White House. Walt Whitman discovered the “comprehensive, all-directing soul he had long been seeking”(Reynolds) in Abraham Lincoln’s life. Therefore Whitman, a patriotic American, would see Lincoln’s death as not only a grave tragedy but also a “promise [of] ultimate purgation and unification for America.”(Reynolds).