Appreciation of O Captain! My Captain!

Appreciation of O Captain! My Captain!Walt Whitman was born on the 31st of May, 1819, in Long Island, New Y ork. His life’s work, Leaves of Grass, made him one of the first American poets to be famous world wide. O Captain! My Captain!by Walt Whitman is an elegy, as it was written to honor the death of President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. This poem bears little resemblance to his other, more experimental writings, and it is a rare example of his use of rhymed, rhythmically regular verse, which serves to create a somber yet exalted effect.T ext AnalysisO Captain! My Captain! is a simple, three-stanza poem:●Stanza I describes the scene where “the ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought iswon”but “where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead”. The poet regards President Lincoln as “my Captain” and deeply expresses his respect for him from the point ofa sailor or a soldier.●Stanza II portrays how people celebrates the triumph of the ship and their leader---“they call,the swaying mass, their eager faces turning ” with the bugle trilling, the flag flung, which is rather spectacular and shows the whole nation’s sincere love an respect for President Lincoln.In this stanza, the poet refers to the fallen Caption as “father”, a near-and-dear call, representing his deep admiration for President Lincoln and Lincoln’s role as father of the nation.●Stanza III expresses the poet’s profound sorrow for President Lincoln’ death. He comes backto earth and recognizes that “Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead”. Here the poet refers the Captain as “he”, an indication of his somber desperation and extreme grief. The poet’s distress is accentuated by the contrasting celebrations of victory and lamentations of death. The poet recognizes the importance of victory, calling out "Exult O shores, and ring O bells!”, but his "mournful tread" prevents him from truly taking part in the festivities. The image of the dead captain---"O heart! Heart! Heart! / O bleeding drops of red”--- haunts the poem and the reader is constantly reminded that he has "fallen cold and dead."Writing devices●Symbolism---Walt Whitman wrote the poem after Abraham Lincoln's assassination.Repeated symbolic reference is made to this issue throughout the verse. The "ship" spoken of is intended to represent the United States of America, while its "fearful trip" recalls the troubles of the American Civil War. The titular "Captain" is Lincoln himself. The prize is the preservation of the nation.●Rhyme Scheme--- The poem contains three stanzas, each of which consists of 8 lines. Thefirst four lines are two couplets and the last four are in the form of a regular ballad with the fifth and seventh lines iambic tetrameter and the sixth and eighth lines iambic trimeter. The rhyme scheme is aabb cded.●Meter and Rhythm---there is a pattern of four long lines followed by four short lines ineach stanza. The shortened lines emphasize the personal grief experienced by the poetagainst the backdrop of a broader victory. The poem's rhythm is created by the varying line lengths.●Repetition---the repeated use of "heart" in line 5 emphasizes the poet's grief at the death ofhis captain. "Fallen cold and dead" is repeated at the end of each stanza to emphasize the poet's deep loss.●Apostrophe---an apostrophe is a form of personification in which an individual addressessomeone who is dead, someone who is not there, or an inanimate object. "O Captain! My Captain!" at the start of the first two stanzas are examples of apostrophe, as is "Exult O shores, and ring O bells!" in the third stanza.ThemeThe poet is trying to communicate with readers his acknowledgement and love for President Lincoln and his grief of his death in O Captain! My Captain! The poem takes the form of an ode characterized by sustained noble sentiment and appropriate dignity of style. Walt Whitman speaks not only for himself, but for his whole nation America as Abraham Lincoln is the savior of their nation, and they embrace him as their hero.Walt Whitman is often referred to as the “poet of democracy”. He had a strong sense of mission. Most of his works are concerned about freedom, justice and individualism. In fact, President Abraham Lincoln is a symbol of democracy. To speak high of President Abraham Lincoln is to praise the spirit of sacrifice in the course of pursuing of freedom and justice.。