Analysis Of The Poem O Captain ! My Captain - 1846 Words

Whitman’s â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† was written about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln which gives the poem a strong sense of historical context. The context of the poem gives it the emotional connection and remembrance that so many Americans know and honor each year. When it comes to remembering and honoring him, Walt Whitman was a very good poet that wrote very good poems about Lincoln. Walt Whitman was alive when Abe was assassinated so that gives Whitman a real time view of the effects of Abe’s death. The news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln swept through the nation and a cloud instantly fell over the country. His death came at the most inconvenient time because the war just ended. He did not get the opportunity to lead a†¦show more content†¦My Captain!† was special in particular because it did not need much explanation and people in that time could easily read and understand its meaning. Victorian poets wrote about serious top ics regarding the emotions and things that provoke the different emotions and were generally old fashioned. The tone of sadness could also be a direct correlation to Walt Whitman’s evolving writing style that changed throughout his later years. A good friend of Whitman’s, William Osler, told Whitman â€Å"to live by the motto ‘carpe diem - make hay while the sun shines’ - a theme that permeated the poetry of younger Whitman. The aging Whitman did not always appreciate the advice.† (Nelson 111) This connection between Whitman and his writing plays a big part in the writing process. The tone is the attitude of the piece of work generally intended by the author. Although the rhetoric of the poem â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† can be seen as the main reason for the tone but the writer plays just as much a part as the situation behind the poem. The poem â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† has two main allusions that are present. The allusions also help make the poem so impactful. One of the allusions present is the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The other allusion is the ending of the American Civil War. Although both events were big, country wide events, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is the main reason that Whitman wrote this poem. Most Americans and literature pursuers around the worldShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem O Captain My Captain By Walt Whitman1337 Words   |  6 Pageswhere we now are today. To begin analyzing this poem we must first look at the context of when the poem was written. This poem, â€Å"O Captain, My Captain† was written by Walt Whitman in 1865 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This death of the beloved president left the entire country devastated. Walt Whitman was a very strong admirer of Abraham Lincoln and often saw him as a fatherly figure in his life. Whitman writes many times in his poem yelling â€Å"father† (Whitman 13). Whitman truly believedRead More Analysis Of The Poem O Captain ! My Captain By Walt Whitman826 Words   |  4 Pagesthe famous poem, â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† Written by, Walt Whitman in the year 1865. The poem, refers to a terrible event in American history; the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Instead of the country celebrating and rejoicing over the ending of the Civil War and being happy over the country being kept whole, everyone was mourning in the loss of their leader. Aboard a ship, the poem is about a fellow sailor grieving from the loss of his captain. The sailor in the poem is singingRead MorePoem Analysis: O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman Essays568 Words   |  3 PagesThe poem basically tells a story about the death of the captain of a ship men crew. The speaker of the poem is a sailor of the ship crew. He grieves mournfully about the death of his respectfully captain. 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