“Not a clue,” he goads the confused students, and goes on to explain that it's from a poem by Walt Whitman, referring to Abraham Lincoln. He instructs them, “in this class, you can either call me Mr. Keating or, if you're slightly more daring, 'O Captain, my Captain. '” Watching it now, this feels like a power move.
On his first day, Professor John Keating playfully asks his students to address him as “O Captain, My Captain”, as a tribute to his favourite poet. And now, 31 years later, I imagine John Keating's students would pay homage to their favourite professor with a few short verses: O Captain, My Captain!
"O Captain! My Captain!" implies a comparison between the death of a ship's captain and the death of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. A captain is the leader of a ship, just as the president is the leader of the U.S. The poem uses the death of the captain as a way of mourning Lincoln's death.
My Captain!" is an extended metaphor in that the poem represents the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the end of the Civil War. The ship represents the country having finally arrived at a port, at peace.
Why is the United States referred to as the ship in O Captain, My Captain?
The “captain” represents Lincoln , and the “ship” represents the Civil War; Lincoln was the commander of the Civil War much as a captain would be of his ship. In line two, when it says that “the ship has weather'd every rack,” it is referring to all the lives that were lost during the War.
O Captain, my Captain! | Thank you to Robin Williams (HD)
What is the irony of O Captain, My Captain?
Though the speaker calls out for him and wants to celebrate his victory, the captain is unable to answer, as he has died on his ship on the way home. The irony of the situation is that he managed to protect his ship in battle and return it home safe and sound, yet he is no longer alive to enjoy his victory.
What does the port in O Captain, My Captain represent?
Answer and Explanation: The port in the common sense of the word means ashore and connotes safety after a voyage. In this case it is a metaphor for the end of the Civil War. In the poem, the port represents the end of the American Civil War that lasted from 1861 to 1865.
In essence, the allusion in “O Captain! My Captain!” refers to Abraham Lincoln. Whitman wrote the poem in the year 1865, the same year that Lincoln died. Captain is an allusion to the president, Abraham Lincoln, while the 'ship' (Whitman 1) is an illusion to the United States.
The ship symbolizes the state, which the “captain”—that is, President Abraham Lincoln—has successfully navigated through the rough seas of the Civil War. With this in mind, the speaker's love for his captain may be said to stand in for the love Whitman feels for Lincoln.
What is the juxtaposition of O Captain, My Captain?
The poem "O Captain! My Captain" juxtaposes grief and exultation by positioning the descriptions of the victory and the happy crowds near the mourning of the lone speaker and corpse of the captain. This juxtaposition occurs throughout the poem.
What is the fearful trip in O Captain, My Captain?
Answer and Explanation:
In the poem Whitman likened the presidency of Lincoln to a captain steering a ship. The fearful trip was the American Civil War that was ending, but whose end was not formalized.
What is the main reason that O Captain, My Captain is considered an elegy?
Answer: because it is a poem or song that was written in honor of someone deceased. Explanation: "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, is considered an elegy because it is a poem or that was written in honor of someone deceased. It is a funeral song.
He is a loyal and obedient student of Welton Academy and originally a member of the Dead Poets Society group. However, following Neil Perry's suicide, Cameron shows his true colors and betrays his former friends by selling them out to Headmaster Nolan in his plot to fire John Keating.
He looks at the words, “Dead Poets,” written on the first page, and begins to weep. Mr. Keating weeps because the phrase “Dead Poet” has taken on a tragic new meaning. Keating's philosophy of “seize the day” was based on the inevitability of death—now, death has come to one of the Dead Poets.
What is the meaning behind "o captain, my captain"?
Even as the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” celebrates the end of the American Civil War, it is also an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln. Victory and loss are thus closely intertwined throughout the poem. On the one hand, its mourning is tempered with joyful reminders that the war is won.
Why do they say oh captain my captain in Dead Poets Society?
“Not a clue,” he goads the confused students, and goes on to explain that it's from a poem by Walt Whitman, referring to Abraham Lincoln. He instructs them, “in this class, you can either call me Mr. Keating or, if you're slightly more daring, 'O Captain, my Captain. '” Watching it now, this feels like a power move.
Walt Whitman wrote “O Captain! My Captain!” in response to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, which occurred just five days after the Confederacy surrendered and the American Civil War was won.
What is the figure of speech in O Captain My Captain?
Answer and Explanation: The figures of speech in "O Captain! My Captain" by Walt Whitman are apostrophe, paradox, alliteration, metonymy and repetition. The poem uses apostrophe in saying "O Captain" and "O heart" because the speaker is exclaiming to one no longer there and to his heart.
Why do you think some phrases are repeated throughout the poem "O Captain, my Captain"?
My Captain!” (lines 1 and 9) is repeated to emphasize the narrator's shock at the death of his “captain,” and the fact that he's really dead is emphasized with repeating the phrase, “fallen cold and dead.” For the first four lines of each stanza, the rhyme scheme keeps a distinct pattern; however, in the last four.
What is the moral lesson of the poem O Captain My Captain?
The moral lesson of the poem is that victory comes with a price. The captain in the poem relates to Abraham Lincoln and the ship signifies the United States. Lincoln successfully guided his nation through the agitation of the civil war and brought an end to slavery in America.
What does the rack represent in O Captain, My Captain?
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won; The speaker is shouting out to his captain (“O Captain!”) that they've finally made it home after a frightening trip. They were on a ship that survived, or “weathered,” strong winds (a.k.a. “racks”).
My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written by Walt Whitman in 1865 about the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Well received upon publication, the poem was Whitman's first to be anthologized and the most popular during his lifetime.
The people on the shore watch the boat come in. Although keel usually refers to a ridge that goes along the underside of the boat, the word can also refer to the boat as a whole, as it does in line 4.
