"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman

This Poem by Walt Whitman describes the death of Abraham Lincoln.  It is a very famous poem and one you may hear throughout your education.

Read/listen to the tone of the poem. As you read think about and be prepared to answer the following questions:

1. The poem, “Oh Captain!  My Captain!” tells the of a journey by sea. Describe how the journey ended

2. In the poem “Oh Captain!  My Captain!” the ships captain is compared to President Abraham Lincoln. State what the ship is compared to.  Explain your answer.

3. Line 2 of the poem reads “Our fearful trip is done,...” Identify the event in American history that “fearful trip” refers to.

4. Describe one of the ship captain’s character traits in the poem and cite words from the poem that support your answer.

5. State whether in you opinion, the narrator (the person who is speaking) in the poem is likely to have supported the Union or Confederacy in the Civil War and cite words from the poem that support your opinion,

6. Suppose the ship’s captain represents President Abraham Lincoln.  Describe the attitude of the narrator towards the president and cite words from the poem that support your answer.

7. State whether “Oh Captain!  My Captain!” is a comic or tragic poem and cite words from the poem to support your answer.

O Captain! My Captain!

By Walt Whitman

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, their eager faces turning;
                         Here Captain! dear father!
                            This arm beneath your head!
                               It is some dream that on the deck,
                                 You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
                         Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
                            But I with mournful tread,
                               Walk the deck my Captain lies,
                                  Fallen cold and dead.

Source: Leaves of Grass (David McKay, 1891)

Play the video and below and follow along with the poem as you listen to it being read.  

After you have completed this part of the lesson, you can check the associated box on the main course page to mark it as complete

Last modified: Friday, 29 April 2016, 10:52 AM