"O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!": POETIC STRUCTURES AND DEVICES

Explanation:

Walt WhitmanO Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman’s masterpiece, O Captain! My Captain! has been analyzed in this section from diverse aspects in order to include the moods, undertones, political climate and personal opinion regarding the events in consideration. The poem moves with sheer melancholic tone throughout its entirety. Walt Whitman is the new-age poet, poised with breaking away from the shackles of established poetic practices and forming news ones just as America is created for a different purpose, tearing away from the yoke of colonialism and steering clear of undermining the proletariat class.

On the other hand, Walt Whitman uses similar poetic devices as that of William Wordsworth and Dante Alighieri. Speaking in the language of ordinary men, Walt Whitman aspired to become the voice of the nation, speaking on behest of American population at the time. As a result, he has recorded the events, moods and spirit of the time magnificently. Saddened by the results of first American civil war, Walt Whitman wrote an elegy in memory of deceased American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. An elegy is known as a mourning poem. The civil war occurred during his lifetime with Whitman a staunch supporter of unionist through and through.

The infamous poem, owing to various aspects has been analyzed within following segments:

Poetic form

Poetic structure

Stanza analysis

Historical perspective

Personal commentary

Poetic Form of O Captain! My Captain!

Most of Walt Whitman’s poems use repetition and rhythm for rendering a spellbinding poetic beauty. He uses anaphora constantly as several verses begin with same word/ phrase. For instance ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomers’ uses ‘when’ 4 time to render a lyrical sound. Anaphora is generally used for joyous chants and rendering celebratory feelings in a poem’s entirety. O Captain! My Captain! makes use of ‘father’ and ‘heart’ to mourn death of assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Poetic Structure

The poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ consists of 3 stanzas in totality having 2 quatrains in each. A quatrain is a stanza consisting of 4-lines.

Historical Perspective

‘O Captain! My Captain!’ was authored by famous American poet Walt Whitman. It is alluded to President Abraham Lincoln’s death in 1865. The poem was a part of his controversially famous collection of poems ‘Leaves of Grass’. The poetic collection continuously was revised to add new poetic pieces from Walt Whitman as a result.

O Captain! O Captain! Analysis

Stanza 1

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;  

The ship has weather’d 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.

In this stanza, the speaker shouts with sheer excitement to ship’s captain about making it home safe and sound. The ship after enduring tough storms and impenetrable winds made it back on the dock. Jaded and exhausted after a tiresome journey, the mission has been a roaring success. Although the ship is yet to arrive safely in the harbor, but ‘land ahoy’, ‘land ahoy’ as the ship is close by and people are seemingly exulted by its sight. The church bells are ringing and people act animatedly as the ship nigh the shore. The excitement escalates as the boat nears the harbor. The keel has been thrown in to steady the moving ship. Keel can also be referred to the ‘ship’ as well, same as ‘all hands on deck’ means all people should be ready.

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