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Oh Captain My Captain Short Poem Summary

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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. Grief is an exact word choice to describe Walt Whitman’s famous poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” because he refers to the sorrow and mourning of the death of their great president during the horrific Civil War of the United States. Throughout the poem, Whitman states how after all the fighting and despair, the great Union won. However, their one rock, their one leader, could not make it. Whitman explains, “...But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies…” (Whitman 1). Walt Whitman mentions out of anger how
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