O Captain My Captain Poem Analysis

522 Words2 Pages

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. This poem brings out many different emotions ranging from joy to sorrow. You as the reader will be able to visualize that the “captain” is the symbol of the “father” of the country at the time, President Lincoln, and the “ship” is the United States making it through hardships such as the Civil War.
In the first and third stanzas he uses apostrophe when addressing the captain as if speaking to him directly. The poet uses the word captain in the beginning of each stanza because he wants the reader to focus on him and nothing else. He wants you to feel his devotion for the “captain” Abraham Lincoln. There ...

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