O Captain My Captain Poem Analysis

The two poems share some common characteristics, as both make nautical references and deal with various stages of death. The two authors use capitalization to place emphasis on the titles of the characters in the poem. As in Whitman’s poem, he addresses the subject of the poem as “O Captain! My Captain,” who is the one leading the “ship” (2) that is nearing the port. This is an allusion to President Abraham Lincoln, who led the United States after the Civil War.

His admiration was shown in his most famous work, O’ Captain, My Captain. This is without a doubt the most popular poem of Whitman’s career. In it, he repeats the word Captain; this word refers to Abraham Lincoln, the fallen President. He uses phrases like “fallen cold and dead” to tell of the mournful death of Lincoln. Whitman mentions a “ship”, which is the Union in the Civil War.

Martin Gutierrez Ms. Hedrick English 2nd Period May 16, 2014 Poetic Explication of “O Captain! My Captain!” The poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is a mourning poem or elegy and it was written by Walt Whitman in 1865 during the time of the Civil War. Whitman admired President Lincoln and this poem was written to honor him after he was assassinated and to also celebrate the victory for America in the Civil War. The poetic devices used are apostrophe, metaphors, repetition, and symbolism.

Whitman envisioned democrac... ... middle of paper ... ...k my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. (lines 17-24 Fuhram) This last piece of the poem is directly referencing the president’s passing and we can tell by the narrator’s use of the word “my” that he shares a deep connection with the dead captain. This captain’s death is not just a political loss, but a personal one as well. Whitman’s poetry is democratic because of the language he uses and the subjects he pursues in his poems. Believing that just as America is different from its European counterparts, so too must America’s poetry distinguish itself from previous models, Whitman broke new ground in both subject matter and diction.

The poem's title suggests a holiday but this "break" does not happen for pleasant reasons. For most of the poem Heaney writes of people's differing reactions and at the end he is able to grieve honestly. In the poem Heaney travels home from school to attend the funeral of his 4-year old brother who was killed in a tragic accident. During the funeral Heaney is confronted with many issue's that make him feel uneasy while he still struggles to come to terms with the incident that stands before him: the death of his little brother! In this poem, the writer uses many techniques to express the misery of the situation.

Throughout time readers have been able to distinguish a direct correlation between his life journey and the poems he crafted. During Tennyson’s childhood and maturing adulthood he endured tempestuous events which altered the course of his life and the essence of literary career. The death of his best friend, Hallem, threw him into a phase of darkness, solitude and despair. It was “a period referred to as his ‘”ten years silence”‘(Napierkowski and Rose 270); he was extremely affected by the death “for it shattered all his life and made him desire to die rather than live” (Napierkowski and Rose 270). The potent emotion surrounding death was modeled in his poem Tears Idle, Tears.

Edgar Allan Poe was a major figure in world of literature based on his poems. In his poems, he demonstrated a gleaming use of language and techniques. He uses form throughout his poems. Poetry was an outlet for Poe, he was able to express his feelings of love, anger, and grief. One of Poe's most famous poems, “Annabel Lee,” which was first published in August of 1849, expresses the emotions of grief, love and loss that he felt when he lost his wife.

This work is a great poem to expose readers to exploring the depths of the words written to interpret the hidden messages among them. The true meaning behind this poem was for Whitman to express his admiration for President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated twenty-one years before it was written. Whitman wanted to pay tribute by creating an ode to the late President. After

This poem became really popular due to the poem describing an ordinary American citizen, and his patriotism towards the country.. Released in 1865 another one of Whitman’s big works was “O Captain! My Captain”, in which the captain refers to Abraham Lincoln, who Whitman considered a hero, and how an ideal leader should be.The death of Lincoln caused Whitman to lament, and write this poem. Whitman, in this poem, wants the American people to put trust in their leaders.Another one of Whitman’s classics was “I Hear America Singing”. Released in 1966, this poem by Whitman is about American pride.

If interpreted literally this is the poem’s only meaning, but for those who look further there is an underlying story behind the words of Whitman. Whitman uses multiple literary elements throughout this poem in order to unmask the story of Abraham Lincoln’s journey and ultimate death as a result of the Civil War and his fight to end slavery. The title of the poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” , insinuates that the poem will be centered around a leader and possibly someone who is crying out to this leader. The first lines of the poem state, “O Captain!