"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman: National Poetry Month Flashback

Brief Analysis: “O Captain! My Captain!” is a lyric poem (a poem that attempts to express a strong feeling). Whitman uses the following poetic devices to express his grief at the death of Abraham Lincoln:

apostrophe – the poem’s speaker addresses a dead captain (Lincoln) in the style of an ode.repetition – phrases such as “heart! heart! heart!” and the repeating of “fallen cold and dead” emphasize the poet’s grief.word choice – even in the lines that describe the victory celebration, the use of doleful phrases cast a gloomy shadow.extended metaphor – the poem is an extended metaphor with Lincoln as the captain and father, a term which deepens the reader’s sadness.

Links

Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comFigurative Language in Poetry Lesson PlanTheme in Poetry Lesson Plan Walt Whitman Page