Summary of o captain my captain written by walt whitman
Answers
In this poem the poet compares Union and Abraham Lincoln to a Ship and its captain, who just returned from war at sea that they have won, representing the Victory of the Civil War.
There is merry making everywhere but suddenly the captain fall down on the Dec of the ship.
This is Stanza one.
In the Second stanza, the speaker is asking his captain to get up but the captain is unresponsive and has “fallen cold and dead”.
But he wishes if this is a dream.
The third stanza is where the speaker is checking the dead captain‘s body and confirms that it is lifeless.
He is struck with grief that even though the journey is complete, but the captain is no more with them.
Answer:
In the first stanza, the speaker, a sailor, salutes his captain. He reports that their voyage is successful and nearly complete and that “the prize we sought is won.” As the ship approaches port, the speaker describes the bells tolling and the celebratory crowds gathering. But in a sudden shift, the speaker exclaims that his captain has fallen on the deck “cold and dead.”
In the second stanza, the speaker implores his captain to “rise up” and see the crowd eagerly rejoicing in his victorious return. As the speaker tells his captain, “for you the flag is flung,” “for you the bugle trills,” and “for you the shores a-crowding.” Again, the tone shifts as the speaker acknowledges that his captain has “fallen cold and dead” but expresses hope that “it is some dream.”
In the third and final stanza, the speaker examines his deceased captain, whose “lips are pale and still” and who “has no pulse or will.” Though the voyage is complete and the ship safely harbored, the speaker is wracked with grief. He calls for the bells to be rung and for the crowds to exult, but he walks “with mournful tread[…] the deck my Captain lies, / Fallen cold and dead.”