Read this excerpt from “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman. What is the rhyme scheme?
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,
Answers
The rhyme scheme in each stanza can be described as aabb xyzy. The first four lines are rhyming couplets, and then every other line rhymes in the second section. The opening couplets establish a happy mood, but the shorter part in the end brings out the disappointment experienced by the poet over the captain's death.However, the "bells" and "trills" don't rhyme- however, they are consonants.
Stanza 1 begins with two happy couplets, Stanza 2 begins with two celebrating couplets, Stanza 3 has sad and mourning couplets as the speaker accepts and describes the death of the captain.
Answer:
The poem expresses the speaker's feelings upon learning of his captain's passing. He praises his commander for the triumph they have achieved together. The death of Abraham Lincoln at the conclusion of the Civil War, which denied the United States of a great president, serves as the poem's main focus. We learn something new about the battle in each stanza. Bells ring as the terrifying journey comes to a conclusion, but the captain is no longer there to celebrate the triumph.
Explanation:
''O Captain! My Captain!'' has three stanzas to develop the theme of the captain's passing and the poet's feelings in the wake of it. The first stanza narrates the return of a ship following a "fearful" journey. The speaker declares that the journey was successful and mentions that a "prize" was obtained. The poet, however, acknowledges that a tragedy has occurred. The ship's captain is deceased, and his bloody body is lying on the deck.
The focus of the poem changes to responses to the captain's passing in the second verse. The lyric refers to a "swaying mass" of individuals who are grieving his passing. The speaker describes the sights and sounds of grief, such as floral arrangements, bells ringing, flags waving, and bugle calls.
The third verse goes back to the Captain's description. The Captain's body seems motionless, "pale and inert," with "neither pulse nor will," in contrast to the raucous responses of the throng. Even though the journey is ended and success, the poet's speaker is still in mourning over the Captain's passing.
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