Picture Credits: Slide Share
Every Robin Williams fan has watched and unwatched and revealed at the marvel of the “O Captain! My Captain!” scene in Dead Poets Society. But a deeper look into the original poem might just help you understand what makes the phrase even more iconic than you ever imagined!
Introduction
Poem’s Name - O Captain! My Captain!
Poet’s Name - Walt Whitman
Genre - Elegy
Language - English
Summary
Written as an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln after what is considered one of the worst assassinations in the history of the United States, the poem explores the joy and sorrow of the American community as a whole as well as Whitman as an individual.
While the country rejoices in the Union, it also mourns for Lincoln. While the crowd ‘exults shores and rings bells’, Whitman treads the deck, mourning the death of his leader ‘fallen cold and dead’.
The first stanza starts off at a very hopeful note, as if rejoicing the victory of the Union in the Civil war, but slowly turns cold and dim with the revelation of Lincoln’s death. The “O Captain!” quickly changes to “O Heart!” leaving the readers with a sense of desperation; as if to bring him back to life.
The lack of time to celebrate their victory before being faced with a terrible and unnerving loss is evident from how immediately the tone of the poem changes.
The poet juxtaposes the moments of vibrancy and happiness in ‘wreaths’, ‘bouquets’ and ‘bells’ with those of dismay and grief connoting Lincoln’s body in ‘cold’, ‘pale’ and ‘still’.
He keeps mentioning “you” - calling Abraham Lincoln - as if as a reminder that all the celebration is for him, even if he’s not there.
“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,” giving readers a window into the poet’s longing to celebrate with his leader.
About the Poet
Walter Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was and American poet and journalist born in the town of Huntington on Long Island. Often referred to as the “father of free verse”, his work was controversial at the time, especially his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was characterized as obscene for its overt sexuality.
Whitman relocated to Washington, D.C., during the American Civil War, where he worked for the government and volunteered at hospitals. Even though he never knew Lincoln, Whitman felt closely bonded to him and was deeply moved by his assassination.
About the Poem
"O Captain! My Captain!" is Walt Whitman’s most widely known and revered poems, and became his first anthology, despite its basic rhyme scheme and song-like structuring when compared to most of his other works, which are much more complex in nature.
It is one of four poems written by Whitman about Lincoln’s death, along with When Lilacs Last Bloom’d in the Dooryard, Hush’d Be the Camps To-day and This Dust was Once the Man.
"My Captain" was first published on November 4, 1865 in The Saturday Press, and later that year in Sequel to Drum-Taps. He also included it in the compilation Leaves of Grass and recited it at many Lincoln-related lectures.
The poem beautifully captures the array of emotions that followed the American Civil war and hence, the loss of a true leader.
Themes Involved
One of the most explored themes in the poem in the context of the American Civil war is the theme of ‘Victory vs Loss’. Victory in any war is always accompanied with the grave loss of human life. However, Whitman’s sense of loss is far greater than the usual loss at war as he has not only lost his leader, but a captain and a father.
An incredible analogy in the poem is in the title itself, wherein Whitman refers to President Abraham Lincoln as the ‘captain’ - denoting the captain of the ship that has sailed to bring victory in the American Civil war.
However, his being no more doesn’t mean the ship has sunk. On the contrary, the ship has steered on and rejoices for him and his pursuit to make this win happen. This calls upon the question of ‘the community vs the individual’ in various contexts.
The former is the level of necessity of the captain to keep the ship afloat. While Lincoln is the most essential element in bringing the ‘weathered ship’ home from their ‘fearful trip’, it turns out that he is not inalienable to the continuing success of the country - the United States will continue to win, even without him.
The latter is the variance in the emotions of the community and Walt Whitman as an individual at the loss of President Lincoln. His sense of loss is much greater than that of the community who are genuinely rejoicing the victory of the American Civil war much more heartily than mourning for their fallen leader.
Famous Lines
“But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,”
“Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,”
“This arm is beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.”
The Bottom Line
Whitman feels alienated from the masses as he feels sorrow over the grave loss of not just a leader, but someone who was a father to him, that has left him numb and dismal, like a child aching for his father’s warmth and affection.
My Ratings for the poem - 4.5 on 5
You can buy a copy from Amazon - O Captain! My Captain!
Written By - Kristi Mazumdar
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