“O Captain! My Captain!

” As an
Elegy

Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” (1865), hailed by critics such as William

Dean Howells, George Rice Carpenter, Edward P. Mitchell, Helen Vendler and Frances
Winwar; universally accepted as Whitman's "one great contribution to the world's
literature “ ( The Atlantic, 1892); deemed by The Literary Digest in 1919 "most likely to
live forever;” entitled by Joseph Csicsila as “one of the two or three most highly
praised of Whitman's poems during the 1920s and 1930s;” and noted by historian
Michael C. Cohen to be “carried beyond the limited circulation of Leaves of Grass and
into the popular heart, making “history in the form of a ballad,” crystallises the
essence of timeless verse, immortalising an elegy that exalts President Abraham
Lincoln's enduring legacy. The opening line, "O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is
done," signals the end of a harrowing journey and a victory achieved through great
sacrifice. A profound exploration of the poem through the analysis of its form and
structure, its language and imagery, and its themes and symbolisms unfurls this
masterpiece as an elegy, or in the language of James O'Donnell Bennett, a perfect
“threnody,” aptly commented by the author Daniel Aaron that "Death enshrined the
Commoner [Lincoln], [and] Whitman placed himself and his work in the reflected
limelight".

The architectural brilliance of Whitman’s elegy is not merely in its composition but in
its profound resonance with the collective American consciousness. Justin Kaplan
characterises the poem as “Whitman’s supreme effort to reach a national audience,” a
testament to its traditional rhyme, metre, stanza, and refrain, which are meticulously
crafted to evoke a sense of unity and solemn reflection (Kaplan, Walt Whitman: A Life,
1980). Each stanza stands as a carefully structured pillar, supporting the overarching
narrative of the poem—a narrative that intertwines the personal with the political, the
individual with the collective. The apostrophe—Whitman’s direct address to the
deceased captain, a poignant symbol for Lincoln—serves as a conduit for the nation’s
grief, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the deep conversation of sorrow and
homage that Whitman orchestrates. The line “The ship has weather’d every rack, the
prize we sought is won,” is not just a declaration of triumph but a reflection of the
tumultuous journey that the nation has undergone—a journey marked by sacrifice,
resilience, and the relentless pursuit of a vision that Lincoln himself embodied (line
2).

Moreover, “O Captain! My Captain!” is not just a symphony of imagery and metaphor;

it is an elegiac masterpiece that Whitman orchestrates with the precision of a
seasoned composer. The vivid imagery of “Exult O shores, and ring O bells!”
captures the dichotomy of a nation’s collective elation against the backdrop of an
individual’s profound grief (line 22). This stark contrast is emblematic of the human
condition, where personal loss is often overshadowed by the larger narrative of
societal triumph. Furthermore, the metaphor of “the bleeding drops of red,” extends
beyond the physicality of war’s carnage to symbolise the deep wounds inflicted upon
the national psyche (line 6). It is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices that are
interwoven into the fabric of freedom—a tapestry stained with the blood of those who
fought valiantly for the Union’s cause. This imagery is not merely illustrative; it is
evocative, conjuring the visceral emotions associated with the Civil War and the price
of peace.

Akin to the form and imagery, the elegiac tapestry of "O Captain! My Captain!" is
woven with enduring themes of grief, remembrance, and the lasting resonance of
visionary leadership. Zhang Li and Wang Fangya's multimodal discourse analysis
suggests that "the progression from 'captain' to 'my captain' to 'father' indicates a
shift from the poet's personal grief over the loss of a leader to a more intimate sorrow
akin to that of a child for a lost parent" (Zhang & Wang, 2022). The line "The captain
does not answer, his lips are pale and still," is a poignant encapsulation of the finality
of death, echoing the profound silence that follows the loss of a great leader (line 14).
Whitman's lament here is not just for Lincoln the man, but for the embodiment of the
ideals he championed—ideals that are now left without their most steadfast defender.
As the poem concludes, the imagery of the ship, "anchor’d safe and sound,"
juxtaposed with the captain's tragic stillness, serves as a powerful metaphor for the
nation's state post-war (line 21). The vessel's safe harbour is emblematic of the Union
preserved, yet the cost of this preservation is made viscerally clear through the
captain's demise. It is a bittersweet tableau that captures the essence of an elegy,
which mourns the deceased while also acknowledging the lasting impact of their life
and leadership.

Within the canon of elegiac verse, Walt Whitman's “O Captain! My Captain! thus,
although criticised by scholars such as Gay Wilson Allen, Robert Pinsky, and C. K.
Williams as “democratic and populist poem,” not very good,” “truly awful piece of
near doggerel triteness,” its symbols being "trite", the rhythm "artificial", and the
rhymes "erratic,” continues to resonate with the audience of the 21st century and
throughout the history of American literature for its appeal to the universal human
condition and its profound exploration of the himan nature, as, in 1916, Henry B.
Rankin, a biographer of Lincoln, wrote that "My Captain" became "the nation's—aye,
the world's—funeral dirge of our First American".