Emilio Mackie Mr. Webb English 11, Period 1 3-17-2015 O Captain My Captain Walt Whitman wrote the poem O Captain My Captain to honor the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. When the poem was published in the New York Saturday Press, the American public loved it. It became a national sensation overnight. Walt Whitman was asked to recite the poem so often, that he once said, “I’m almost sorry I ever wrote [it]” (Library of Congress) But this poem is not to be taken lightly. It speaks of a story about a captain, who returns with his crew after a hard voyage, only to lie in his deathbed in the end. This poem is an allegory for the Post Civil War America, But it is also a commentary on how America responds to tragedy. We are a resilient country. heart! heart O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead." The nation was in tears the days after the assassination. The nation was out for blood, “The search for John Wilkes Booth was one of the largest manhunts in history, with 10,000 federal troops, detectives and police tracking down the assassin.” (History.com). The entire nation was in shock, and it was in the wake of this that Walt Whitman wrote O Captain My Captain. In this stanza, Whitman uses figurative language to place the reader into the setting of the deck, where the captain lies, dead. But he also uses this line to show that the whole country mourned the my Captain! rise up and hear the bells Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning"; The country as a whole was mourning the death of an amazing man. Walt Whitman and Abe Lincoln held an actually personal and friendly relationship. When Whitman heard that Lincoln took the office of the President, he was recorded saying “[The President] had “canny shrewdness” and “horse-sense.” He seemed the down-home, average American, with his drab looks and his humor, redolent of barnyards and barrooms. Whitman commented on the “somewhat rusty and dusty appearance” of Lincoln, who “looks about as ordinary in attire, etc. as the commonest man.”” (Gilder Lehrman). Abe Lincoln was more than a man to Walt Whitman, he was a friend. And that friend was being honored by the whole country. Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck, You’ve fallen cold and dead. Dreams are very powerful. The dream of the United States during the war was a nation of free men, no slavery. Abe Lincoln fought for the freedom of the slaves, and for the creation of a nation founded on the principles that all men are created equal. Just as the Founding Fathers did only one hundred years prior. What would Abe Lincoln or Walt Whitman think of what’s happened to that dream today? Are we an accepting and equal society, it
Whitman’s work has an arguable style that makes his work appear as an egotistical piece of literature for some and others may find a different deeper meaning within his work. This work is an excellent example of patriotic work that attempts better its audience throughout by making revelations and comparisons of different idea and thoughts about the nation's people. Whitman illustrates his interpretation of what a kind of person is a great person is and how they go about life. He intends to make his audience better as a whole and understand the underlying problem that some have. Whitman's writing truly expresses his feelings about his time and what he expects from them for a better
Walt Whitman was a famous American poet who wrote many great poems during the Civil War. Though he originally worked for printing presses and newspapers, he later became a famous poet. During the Civil War, Whitman wrote many patriotic poems that supported the ideas of the North. Whitman’s poems will forever be linked to the American Civil War era of poetry. Walt Whitman was an iconic American poet with an interesting life that later impacted his works of poetry.
Introduction: Walt Whitman was an American poet from West Hills, Long Island New York. He wrote plenty of poems for the New York Times Journal newspaper also known for the famous book Leaves of Grass that had nine editions and is more than one book. The book Leaves of Grass was published in 1888 when he was finally done with all nine editions and he had passed after publishing the ninth edition.
Today I have chosen two speeches which are critical to the growth and development that our nation has gone through. Two men from different backgrounds and different times with one common goal, equality for all. The Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” both address the oppression of the African-Americans in their cultures. Though one hundred years and three wars divide the two documents, they draw astonishing parallels in they purposes and their techniques.
In Walt Whitman’s poem Oh Captain! My Captain! He talks about the death of America’s commander and chief, Abraham Lincoln. Whitman published this poem in his book of poems about the civil war causing him to become one of a handful of people to be the only ones who did not participate in the war, but wrote about it. In fact, Whitman uses various metaphors to tell of the death of Abraham Lincoln to the common people of the Union.
Throughout the span of this semester, much of the literature discussed revolved around the so-called renaissance of American literature and its impact upon both the nation and its people. Of all the authors studied in this time period, Walt Whitman may well be known as the quintessential American author. Famous for breaking every rule known to poetry in the inimitable compilation, Song of Myself, Whitman provided a fresh and insightful commentary upon the dualistic nature of society, love, and life itself. Through defining these essential aspects of humanity, Whitman indeed composed one of the most accurate and enduring definitions of the individual self that literature, American or otherwise, has ever seen. Specifically, this was done through
Walt Whitman had many ideas of how America was not living up to what the founding fathers had hoped to have achieved in their democracy a century before in succeeding from England. Whitman thought that the government was beginning to resemble what the founding fathers had fought and multitudes of soldiers died to escape from. In contrast to what the government had been returning to, Americans as a whole were finding their identity as a very young nation and were proud to call themselves Americans. Whitman was progressive when it came to his ideas on women and industry and it showed in the book Democratic Vistas.
As a self-published author, Walt Whitman was one of America’s most significant nineteenth century poets. Through his poems, he was known for “chanting praises to the body as well as to the soul, and found beauty and reassurance even in death (poetry foundation).” In his famous poem “I sing the body electric”, shows how much appreciation he has for the body and made a connection to how both the body and poems make the soul. Thus, the ending of the poem shows important characteristics of Walt Whitman’s writing and belief.
In a reflective poem, the narrator is forced to feel guilt since “It feels a shame to be Alive—/When Men so brave—are dead—” (“444”). Dickinson is sympathizing with the war effort and struggling with her status of safety. Life was miserable for the soldiers in battle, all while the rest of the population had to wait as the travesty unfolded. Since she could only hear of the deaths, she was not able to give a face to the men, yet it is also true that these reports would be entering the people’s lives incessantly. To quantify the loss of life, Dickinson poetically compares the soldiers with nature, saying “THEY dropped like flakes, they dropped like stars,/ Like petals from a rose” (“XLIX”). While the images conjured are beautiful, they describe a gore similar to the situation in Whitman’s hospital. The Civil War was one of the most fatal in world history, so it is understandable that such symbols, including the inundating nature of snow, are used. The elegance of these actually twist the knife that is Dickinson’s poem, serving as a reminder that each fighter was unique, as is every individual snowflake. Together, the poems force contemplation rather than putting one into the action of the event. Dickinson uses her lack of war experience to her advantage by focusing on the universal human
Whitman’s poem was written in the mid-1800s during the industrial revolution, but Hughes’ poem was written in the 1900s during the Civil Rights Movement. This is important because the Civil Rights Movement established the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Industrial Revolution moved at a slow place but there were still issues with slavery. Whitman’s poem was free verse while Hughes’ poem was traditional rhyme/rhythm. The tone of Whitman’s poem was patriotic and celebratory (I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear); because he was paying tribute to the success of the individuals; however, the tone of Hughes’ poem was sarcastic and frustrated (to build a “homeland of the free,’’ because he didn’t feel like some individuals were allowed to experience the American Dream. Whitman’s theme of his poem was that individuals and liberties make America great. On the other hand, Hughes’ theme of his poem expressed that individuals felt excluded from the “homeland of the free.” The purpose of Whitman’s poem is praise for universal brotherhood. However, Hughes’ poem’s purpose was to inform individuals about inequality, meaning that not everyone has the same liberties in America. Whitman’s poem focused on the jobs of the workers, while Hughes’ poem focused on race, social status, and a list to represent the “I am’’ phrase; (I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars). He also
In his poem, Whitman expresses the American Dream in its most traditional sense. He portrays the very basics of the dream itself; American pride, hard work, unity, and individuality. Whitman mainly conveys the sense of pride when talking about the everyday people of America. He focuses on the hard work the citizens partake in within a variety of jobs; from seamstresses to masons, Whitman celebrates them all. Throughout celebrating the people of America, Walt Whitman provides a sense of individualism without straying from the idea of unity. The entirety of the poem insists that every individual in America sings in unison while maintaining their “varied carols”. By focusing on the simplicity of the everyday individuals as well as the ordinary jobs held by those in his poem, Whitman is able to relay his belief of the American Dream as a reality. The freedom the American people have to live the lives they desire throughout the poem is a reflection of the reality in which Whitman existed. The idea that each person could create their own dream and their own opportunities were the foundation of Whitman’s “American
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.
Walt Whitman is arguably America’s most influential poet in history. Born Walter Whitman in May 31st, 1819 to Walter Whitman and Louisa van Velsor, he was immediately nicknamed ‘Walt’ to distinguish him from his father. He came to life in West Hills on the famous Long Island, the second of nine children that grew up in Brooklyn. He came to be fondly known as ‘the Bard of Democracy’, mainly because that was a main message in his work. He is also celebrated as ‘the father of the free verse’. He was a liberal thinker and was vehemently against slavery, although later on he was against the abolitionists because, according to him, they were anti-democracy. He managed to marry transcendentalism with realism in his works. His occupation was a printer school teacher and editor.
...macy and public response are at odds here. In fact, the poem ends with a note of sad and quiet desperation, a true confession of love: "But I with mournful tread, / Walk the deck my Captain lies, / Fallen cold and dead" (Terrinoni).
In the second stanza, Sexton drives from the funeral to the Cape to “cultivate” herself or deal with her grief. She describes the images she sees on the cape such as the sun shining from the sky and uses a simile to describe the sea that “swings in like an iron gate”. The scenery, unlike Sexton’s emotions, are very lively and happy and the usage of this imagery makes the reader understand that the world was still turning even through the speaker’s life had just stopped due to her loss (Johnson 3). The end of the second stanza concludes with “in another country people die”, which brings back the poem’s theme of death and returns the poem to a more dismal tone showing that she cannot escape death or her grief. In the third stanza, Sexton addresses a loved one who is with her. Despite the wind falling like stones from “white hearted water” or the grief hitting her, her loved one touches her and she realizes that unlike the dead, she is not