张浩赏析O Captain! My Captain!
2013-01-17 14:52阅读：
These days I have read some American poems, some of them impressed
me much with their beauty, passion or wisdom.
However, Walt Whiteman’s O Captain! My Captain! impressed me the most
with its genuine passion and the power of words.
In order to understand this poem, we must know about the background
firstly. “O Captain! My Captain!” is a poem written by the American
Poet Walt Whitman in 1865, the year when the civil war ended and
the president Lincoln was murdered. OK, to know these is enough, as
we all know, Lincoln is one of the three greatest presidents,
Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt, in American history. In his age,
the conflict between North and South was fierce due to the
different opinions to the slavery system in the American South. It
was Lincoln that ended the different development patterns in
America. He contributed a lot to his nation as he made America be a
new America which is full of liberte, egalite and frate
rnite. But the excellent president was murdered after the ending of
the important war.
The author, Whiteman was extremely patriotic and wanted to see the
end of slavery; this was his hope for America. As a result, He
admired Abraham Lincoln immensely because of his political
standpoint of universal equality as stated in the constitution. The
captain in the poem refers to Abraham Lincoln who is the captain of
the ship; while the ship represents the United States of America.
The first line establishes a happy mood as it addresses the
captain. The phrase “our fearful trip is done” is talking about the
end of the Civil War. The next line references the ship, America,
and how it has “weathered every rack”, meaning America has braved
the tough storm of the civil war, and “the prize we sought”, the
end of slavery, “is won”. The following line expresses a mood of
jubilation of the union winning to war as it says “the people all
exulting,” however, the next line swiftly shifts the mood when it
talks of the grimness of the ship, and the darker side of the war.
Many lost their lives in the American Civil war, and although the
prize that was sought was won, the hearts still ache amidst the
exultation of the people. The repetition of heart in line five
calls attention to the poet’s vast grief and heartache because the
Captain has bled and lies still, cold, and dead (lines six through
eight). This is no doubt referencing the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln and Whitman’s sorrow for the death of his idol. The second
stanza again calls out to the Captain in a light-hearted manner and
dictates to “rise up and hear the bells”, to join in on the
celebration of the end of the war. The next three lines tell the
captain to “rise up” and join in on the revelries because it is for
him. He is the reason for their merriment: “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.” Everyone is celebrating
what Abraham accomplished; this is not only the abolishment of
slavery but also the formation of the union and the coming together
of people. Again the poet calls to the Captain as if he had never
fallen. The poet does not wish to acknowledge the death of his
beloved Captain, and he even asks if it is some dream (line
fifteen) that the Captain has fallen “cold and dead”.
Throughout the paper there is a distinct rhyme scheme, which is
unusual for Whitman. The rhyme scheme in “O Captain! My Captain!”
is AABCDEFE, GGHIJEKE, and LLMNOEPE for each stanza respectively.
Repetition occurs many times in this poem, for example “O Captain!
My Captain”, “O heart! Heart! Heart” and “ fallen cold and dead.”
This kind of thyme scheme is quite powerful to impress
readers.
Maybe I am impressed by Whiteman’s splendid skills, maybe by his
passion, maybe by a kind of admiration to Lincoln, maybe by all of
these. But if I have to draw a conclusion, I would say it is the
spirit in this poem that impresses me.
