o captain my captain poem by Walt Whitman

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
-WALT WHITMAN
Presented by-
Prof. R. R. Borse,
Asst.Prof. & HOD, Eng.Dept.,
B.P.Arts,S.M.A.Sci.,K.K.C.Comm.College,Chalisgaon,Dist.Jalgaon
Mail- ravindraborse1@gmail.com

CONTEXT
ABOUT POET
SUMMARY
ANALYSIS
THEMES
FIGURES OF
SPEECH
2023 O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! 2

ABOUT POET
• Walter Whitman Jr.
• May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892
• American poet, essayist, and journalist.
• Used unusual images and symbols, including
rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris.
• Labelled as the father of free verse, though he
did not invent it.
• FAMOUS WORKS:
• Leaves of Grass
• Drum-Taps
• Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate: A Tale of
the Times

SUMMARY
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! 4

1st stanza
O my captain, our hard journey is over; we
have endured all the storms and won the
prize. I can hear the ringing bells from the
port where people are waiting to share the
victorious moment with you. All their eyes
are on the steady ship, that bold and brave
vessel. But O my heart, see the red blood
drops where my captain lies cold and dead.

2nd stanza
O my captain, get up and hear those bells.
Rise up to see the flags flying for you. The
people on the shore are shouting for you with
bouquets and ribbon wreaths. The crowd is
waiting for you. Their eager faces turn
towards you. My father, I am putting my hand
under your head. I may be dreaming on this
deck where you have fallen cold and dead.

3rd stanza
My captain is not answering. His lips look
pale and still. My father couldn’t feel my arm
that is under his head. He has no pulse nor
consciousness. The ship has ended its
journey and it has returned with the prizes
won in its trip. The bells are ringing on the
shore. But I am walking toward the deck
slowly where my captain lies cold and dead.

A
N
A
L
Y
S
I
S
• Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!"
uses the metaphor of a ship's captain who has
died to represent the death of President
Abraham Lincoln at the end of the U.S. Civil
War.
• Mourning the death of the captain is a way of
expressing grief over the traumatic loss of the
president.
• "Oh Captain! My Captain!" uses an extended
metaphor that uses the death of a ship's captain
as a way of responding to the death of President
Abraham Lincoln.
• The poem implies a comparison between the
death of a ship's captain and the death of
President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. A captain is
the leader of a ship, just as the president is the
leader of the U.S. The poem uses the death of
the captain as a way of mourning Lincoln's
death.

THEMES
• VICTORY VS LOSS
• The people of America has won the Civil war but they
have lost their leader.
• GRIEF
• The poet is grieving over the loss of their leader Lincoln.
• INDIVIDUAL VS NATION
• The poet grieves over the death of the captain but the
people are rejoicing over the victory. The poet feels that
his feelings are rather personal than public by the words
“my captain”.

SYMBOLS
&
SYMBOLISMS
• The poet compares Lincoln to
ship Captain.
• He symbolizes the U.S as the
ship
• By mentioning storms, fights
and other dangers, he
represents the struggle they
have gone through during the
Civil war.
• Putting his arm under the
Captain’s head, the poet
symbolizes how Mary held
Christ on her lap after his
crucifixion.

FIGURES OF
SPEECH
METAPHOR
• The poem is an extended
metaphor
RHYMING SCHEME
• A A B B
APOSTROPHE
• A figure of speech in which a
speaker directly addresses
someone (or something) that is
not present or cannot respond in
reality. The entity being
addressed can be an absent,
dead, or imaginary person

THANK YOU

o captain my captain poem by Walt Whitman

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