1. Understanding Poetry
Historical Context

2. Walt Whitman (1819–1892) Pioneered free verse in America
•Was a public spokesperson for the masses and a prophet of progress
•Changed the course of American literature with his collection Leaves of Grass (1855)

3. Walt Whitman Born May 31, 1819 Grew up in Brooklyn and Long Island, NY
Began to work for a printer at the age of 12 and fell in love with the writing process
Taught himself to read
and began to read anything
he could find- especially
Dante, Homer, and Shakespeare

4. Walt Whitman Began to work as a teacher in 1836 (only 17-years-old)
Taught for five years until he became a journalist
Worked for a number of different newspapers; the job eventually took him to New Orleans
In 1848, in New Orleans, he first saw the horrors and viciousness of slavery

5. Walt Whitman
After returning to Brooklyn, he founded a “free soil” newspaper and began to refine his poetry style
In 1855, he published Leaves of Grass, which included 12 untitled poems
With the help of
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
he would eventually
publish several more
editions of the work,
adding more poems
each time

6. Walt Whitman
When the Civil War broke out, Whitman vowed to live a “purged” and “cleansed” life
He began writing freelance journalism and visiting the New York-area hospitals, helping with the wounded
Inspired by the suffering he saw, Whitman took a job with the Department of the Interior

7. Walt Whitman
He was eventually fired when his boss found out about his poetry, which he had found offensive
He struggled for the next few years, working odd jobs
Other writers sent his “purses” to help him get by, and to provide for his widowed mother and invalid brother

8. Walt Whitman In the early 1870s, he settled in Camden, New Jersey
There he cared for his dying
mother until he suffered a
stroke
For the next few years, he
prepared his final book of
poems, Good-Bye, My Fancy
He died on March 26, 1892
and was buried in a tomb he had designed

9. O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! My captain! Our fearful trip is done; The ship has weathered ever 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! O the bleeding drops of red! Where on the deck my captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. 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 wreaths for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning. O Captain! Dear father! This arm beneath your head; It is dome dream that on the deck You’ve fallen cold and dead. 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 safe and sound, its voyage closed and done: From fearful trip the victor ship come in with object won! Exult, O shores! And ring, O bells! But I, with silent tread, Walk the spot my captain lies

10. Making Sense of the Poem
Without any historical context, the poem is hard to make sense of- it seems to be about a ship captain who has been killed
When we look at the time period and political atmosphere it was written in, however, a clearer meaning of the poem emerges

11. The Time Period
On April 14, 1854, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated
Since the war was essentially over, most saw this as a bloody, pointless act
Grief spread through
the North and South with
hundreds of poems and
songs being written in
mourning

12. The Time Period
Walt Whitman had lived near the D.C. area during the war and had always been a vocal admirer of Lincoln
He felt Lincoln embodied the American virtues of plain-spokenness, courage, and “horse sense”
He had often seen Lincoln out horseback riding and the men had been acquaintances

13. The Time Period
Lincoln’s death inspired Whitman to write what would become one of his most famous poems
“O Captain! My Captain!” was published in New York’s Saturday Press in November of 1865
It was met with immediate acclaim
It would become Whitman’s most famous poem and helped secure him a place as one of America’s greatest poets

14. O Captain! My Captain!
Whitman’s revisions of the poem

15. Breaking the Poem Down Rhyme Scheme Meter and Rhythm AABB CDED
No fixed meter
The rhythm is created by the varying line lengths

16. Breaking the Poem Down Apostrophe
When the writer addresses someone who is dead, someone who is not there, or an inanimate object
“O Captain! My Captain!” (line 1)
“Exult O shores, and ring O bells!” (line 21)

17. The Extended Metaphor
Extended Metaphor = A metaphor that is developed at great length
This poem features an extended metaphor
Using your notes from this lecture as well as the poem itself, write an explanation of the poem’s extended metaphor
This is due at the end of class