O Captain!

My Captain

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O Captain! My Captain!- Walt Whitman
"O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman, about
the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was a man Walt Whitman deeply
admired and is the captain to whom Whitman refers. "O Captain! My Captain!" is a poem written by Walt
Whitman in 1865. The poem is classified as an elegy or mourning poem, and was written to honor Abraham
Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Walt Whitman was born in 1819 and died in 1892, so he lived
through the American Civil War. Being born close to the founding of the country, he knew people who were a part
of the American Revolution. Through this he experienced the unification and division of the United States. Walt
Whitman was extremely patriotic and wrote many poems about the prominence of America. He also wrote poems
urging people to fight for what is right.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weatherd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise upfor you the flag is flungfor you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbond wreathsfor you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
The arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
Youve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchord safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Summary
O Captain! My Captain is a moving poem in which Whitman expresses his profound sense of grief at
a tragic end of a leader of men is addressed to Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of
the United States of America, who fought a war (the American Civil War) against the Southern States
to give the Negro slaves freedom and human dignity. The war was won, the slaves were freed, but
Lincoln, soon after his election as president for a second term, fell a victim to an assassins bullet.

O Captain! My Captain

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The leader is being conceived as the brave captain of a ship who falls dead on the deck just when the
journey is over and the victory is won. Whitman delivers the message to the captain and declares
that their fearful and dangerous trip is done. Their ship had withstood every destructive encounter
and their prized reward that they longed for is won. Their weary ship is drawing near the sea-port,
the church bells are ringing to celebrate a victory and the people are rejoicing. Yet in the midst the
celebration, he sees that within the grim and the daring vessel, his heart would spill profusely with
drops of blood of immeasurable sadness to see his captain lying cold and dead.
Whitman pleads desperately to the captain to get up from his bed and see that the people
are flying the flag just for him. The people are blowing their trumpets and bugles and are waiting to
present him with bunches of flowers and decorated garlands to honour him-the victor. The
seashores are swaying with crowds of cheering people. All the faces of the people on the shore are
eager to see the captain addressing them from the deck. Yet the captain, a father to all people of the
nation slept still and cold with his arm beneath his head. It is like an unbelievable bad dream that the
leader is dead at the moment of victory.
Yet the captain does not answer still. His lips are extremely pale and not moving. Whitman
says that his father does not feel his arm, and has neither pulse nor movement. The ship has finally
reached the shore. It has dropped its anchor safe and sound. The long tiring voyage is closed and
done. The triumph for the achievement is worth the effort. Whitman encourages the people on the
shores to continue rejoicing and ring those bells as loud as possible. For him he will walk the heavy
steps with deep sadness to the deck where his captain lies absolutely cold and dead.
The main political and social issues during Whitman's time were slavery and the rights of African
Americans. Whitman was self-described as the poet of America and, during the Civil War, the Union.
Whitman wanted to see the end of slavery; this was his hope for America. However, it broke his
heart to see the nation fighting. He admired Abraham Lincoln immensely, sharing his commitment to
the Union and his opposition to slavery.
The captain in the poem refers to Abraham Lincoln who is the captain of the ship, representing the
United States of America. The first line establishes a happy mood as it addresses the captain. The
phrase "our fearful trip is done" is talking about the end of the Civil War. The next line references
the ship, America, and how it has "weathered every rack", meaning America has braved the tough
storm of the Civil War, and "the prize we sought", the end of slavery, "is won". The following line
expresses a mood of jubilation of the Union winning the war as it says "the people all exulting";
however, the next line swiftly shifts the mood when it talks of the grimness of the ship, and the
darker side of the war. Many lost their lives in the American Civil War, and although the prize that
was sought was won, the hearts still ache amidst the exultation of the people. The repetition of
heart in line five calls attention to the poet's vast grief and heartache because the Captain has bled
and lies still, cold, and dead (lines six through eight). This is no doubt referencing the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln and Whitman's sorrow for the death of his idol.
In the second stanza the speaker again calls out to the Captain in a light-hearted manner and
dictates to "rise up and hear the bells", to join in on the celebration of the end of the war. The next
three lines tell the captain to "rise up" and join in on the revelries because it is for him. He is the
reason for their merriment: "for you the flag is flungfor you the bugle trills; for you bouquets and
ribbon'd wreathsfor you the shores a-crowding; for you they call, the swaying mass, their eager
O Captain! My Captain

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faces turning". Everyone is celebrating what Lincoln accomplished; this is not only the abolishment
of slavery but also the formation of the Union and the coming together of people. Again the poet
calls to the Captain as if he had never fallen. The poet does not wish to acknowledge the death of his
beloved Captain, and he even asks if it is some dream (line 15) that the Captain has fallen "cold and
dead".
The third stanza begins in a somber mood as the poet has finally accepted that the Captain is dead
and gone. Here there is vivid and darker imagery such as "his lips are pale and still" and the reader
can picture the dead Captain lying there still and motionless with "no pulse nor will". In line 17, the
poet calls out "My Captain," and in line 18, the poet refers to the Captain as "My father". This is
referring to Lincoln as the father of the United States. Lines 19 and 20 are concluding statements
that summarize the entire poem. The United States is "anchor'd safe and sound". It is safe now from
war with "its voyage closed and done, from fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won".
The country has accomplished its goal of the abolishment of slavery and the unification of people
after a fearful war. In line 21, the examples of apostrophe, ordering "shores to exult," and "bells to
ring" are again referring to how the nation is celebrating while "I with mournful tread, Walk the deck
my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead".