1. “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman

2. What Was Happening Historically? When President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, a war-weary nation was plunged into shock. The last great battles of the Civil War were still a recent memory, and the murder of the president seemed to be a bloody, pointless coda to four years of conflict and instability.

3. …History continued There was a great outpouring of grief across the country, and poems and songs were written mourning the nation’s loss.

4. A Grieving Nation One American who grieved for the fallen president was the poet Walt Whitman. Whitman had lived in Washington for most of the war and was a great admirer of Lincoln, whom he felt embodied the American virtues of plain- spokenness, courage, and "horse-sense." He often saw the president riding around town on horseback, and the two men sometimes exchanged cordial bows.

5. Death as Inspiration Lincoln’s death inspired Whitman to write one of his most memorable works—a simple, three-stanza poem of sorrow that bore little resemblance to his other, more experimental writings. "O Captain! My Captain!" was published in New York’s Saturday Press in November of 1865, and was met with immediate acclaim.

6. Death as Inspiration The poem’s evocation of triumph overshadowed by despair spoke to readers throughout the shattered nation, and it was widely reprinted and published in anthologies. "O Captain! My Captain!" became the most popular poem Whitman would ever write, and helped secure for him a position as one of the greatest American poets of the 19th century.

7. Extended metaphor A metaphor, is a comparison between two unlike subjects. An extended metaphor is when an author uses a metaphor throughout a long passage or even an entire poem. An author would use an extended metaphor to create a clearer comparison between the two items. It also allows the audience to visualize an idea more clearly and can make something that may be complex a little more simple.

8. “O Captain! My Captain!” 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.

9. Analysis--Symbolism of first stanza: The ship is the United States The Captain is the President; Abraham Lincoln The “fearful trip” is the Civil War Arriving safely at “port” is the end of the war 5 days earlier – April 9 Lee surrenders; April 14 Lincoln assassinated The “prize” is the Nation united; victory of the North over the South

10. Stanza 2 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.

11. Stanza 3 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.

12. Works Cited Abraham Lincoln. MSNimages.com. Casa Grande, Arizona. 10 December 2008. American Flag. MSNimages.com. Casa Grande, Arizona. 10 December 2008. Civil War Flags. MSNimages.com. Casa Grande, Arizona. 10 December 2008. Lincoln Victory. MSNimages.com. Casa Grande, Arizona. 10 December 2008. Walt Whitman. MSNimages.com. Casa Grande, Arizona. 10 December 2008. Whitman, Walt. “O Captain! My Captain!”. Library of Congress. Casa Grande, Arizona. 10 December 2008.

13. Create your own Poem Dickinson 3 stanzas Rhyme –both slant and exact Incorporate alliteration, metaphor, personification About people or nature Use structure similar to Dickinson—something small Be precise/economical in your word choice; remember the Gilligan’s Island theme song! Whitman 3 stanzas Free verse Incorporate alliteration, metaphor, parallel structure About the nation, the school, something BIG Use structure similar to Whitman using catalogs and lists Broad ideas with lists of components