O Captain! My Captain!, Walt Whitman: Summary & Analysis
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"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman is a poignant and emotive poem that serves as an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln following the end of the Civil War. The poem uses nautical imagery to convey the jubilation of victory and the sorrow of loss. Through its lyrical language, the poem captures both the nation's celebration and mourning in the aftermath of a great conflict. O Captain! My Captain!
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.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up- for you the flag is flung- for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths- for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, th…