Analysis Of The Poem O Captain My Captain

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Irma Gasparyan Professor Elham Shayegh E&C120, Section B 18 March 2017 The Captain of the Ship The poem “O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman was written after the murder of the second president of the United States of America Abraham Lincoln. The poem was published on November 4, 1865, in Saturday Press in New York. This poem became one of the most famous poems of Whitman, which the readers immediately accepted. In this paper, I will look at the historical background of the poem “O Captain! My Captain” by examining the time period in which the poem was written. To be more specific, it should be noted that the poem was written by the influence of the Civil War. In addition, I want to do…show more content…
The attitude towards the slaves and the conditions of their life and work were unbearable. The South tried to restrain the advent of capitalism, which was flowing from the northern part of the country. As a result, the war broke out, since the north considered absolutely inhumane the maintenance of slaves in the farm land. The result of the war was the abolished slavery. The country opened up new prospects for the development of trade and industry, as well as in strengthening the domestic market (Manning 91). Abraham Lincoln played a crucial role in the victorious end of the Civil War. However, on April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was killed, but his followers continued his work. The assassination of President Lincoln of America was a very heavy blow to Whitman. The poet devotes a whole cycle of poetry to his bright memory. The verse "O Captain! My captain! "is distinguished among them, in which the poet was able to truthfully recreate the deep shock of American society, caused by an insidious crime. The poet understands how worthwhile was the work of President Lincoln, who did a lot for the country, just to confirm it in the way of democracy, prosperity, and…show more content…
That feeling boost because from the very beginning of his political career Lincoln was saying that he was engaged in the war to preserve the union rather than destroy the slavery. That idea of Union was very familiar and close to Whitman. In the poem “O Captain! My Captain,” Whitman shows the heroic Lincoln who acted as a great consolidate in the Civil War. Whitman dedicated the poem “O, Captain, my Captain” to the memorial of the President who was killed by the hand of the murderer. The main character “Captain” of the poem is Lincoln, and the ship is a metaphor, which shows the state, more precisely the USA (Whitman 24). In the poem, Whitman shows the huge love of people towards Lincoln. He wrote, “For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths- for you the shores a- crowding, for you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning.” For the author of the poem, it is extremely difficult to talk about the death of the captain and this difficulty is the foundation of the poem. Though Whitman is sure that the captain is dead, however, he has high hopes that he is mistaken and it is just a dream. Nevertheless, in the last line of the poem one can see how the author shows the reader that the captain is dead with the following words, “Walk the deck my Captain Lies, fallen cold and dead.” Moreover, rejoice and the happiness, which supposed to be after the Civil War is changing into sadness and sorrow
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