What is the literal meaning of O Captain My Captain?

What is the literal meaning of O Captain My Captain?

Track One. Track One: Literal Level. Walt Whitman wrote “O Captain, My Captain!” as a dedication to Abraham Lincoln. Although it seems like it is just a poem about a sea captain who dies at the end of a victorious voyage, it really refers to Lincoln ‘s untimely death shortly after his victory in the Civil War.

Who is the captain in O Captain My Captain quizlet?

Whitman was a staunch Unionist during the Civil War. He was initially indifferent to Lincoln, but as the war pressed on Whitman came to love the president, though the two men never met. The fallen captain in the poem refers to Abraham Lincoln, captain of the ship that is the United States of America.

What tense is O Captain My Captain?

The poem is mainly written in the present tense simple. However, the poet also employs present perfect simple and past tense simple mixed with passive voice to give readers a sort of back story on what has happened prior to the ship going home: “The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,” (l.

What is the captain a metaphor for?

Extended Metaphor. The captain is a metaphor for Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States from 1861-1865. Lincoln was like a captain because he was the leader of the country in the same way that a captain leads his crew.

What is Walt Whitman known for?

Walt Whitman, in full Walter Whitman, (born May 31, 1819, West Hills, Long Island, New York, U.S.—died March 26, 1892, Camden, New Jersey), American poet, journalist, and essayist whose verse collection Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, is a landmark in the history of American literature.

What is it that makes the speaker tired and sick?

However, in line 5, the speaker is “tired and sick” of the astronomer’s scientific explanations of the stars. Therefore, the stars, the poem suggests, are things that cannot be fully measured or explained through science.