The-analysis-of-O-Captain!-My-Captain!”

TheanalysisofOCaptain!MyCaptain!”Abstact‘OCaptain!MyCaptain’isamovingpoeminwhichWhitmanexpresseshisprofoundsenseofgriefatatragicendofaleaderofmenisaddressedtoAbrahamLincoln,oneofthegreatestpresidentsoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,whofoughtawar(theAmericanCivilWar)againsttheSouthernStatestogivetheNegroslavesfreedomandhumandignity.Thewarwaswon,theslaveswerefreed,butLincoln,soonafterhiselectionaspresidentforasecondterm,becameavictimtoanassassin’sbullet.KeywordscaptainsorrowadmirationThemainideaWhenPresidentAbrahamLincolnwasassassinatedonApril14,1865,awar-wearynationwasplungedintoshock.ThelastgreatbattlesoftheCivilWarwerestillarecentmemory,andthemurderofthepresidentseemedtobeabloody,pointlesscodatofouryearsofconflictandinstability.Therewasagreatoutpouringofgriefacrossthecountry,andpoemsandsongswerewrittentomournthenation’sloss.OneAmericanwhogrievedforthefallenpresidentwasthepoetWaltWhitman.OCaptain!MyCaptain!”ThispoemwaswrittenbyWaltWhitmanafterAbrahamLincoln'sassassinationtohonorthedeathofhim.HeappreciatedAbrahamLincolnandwasfrustratedbyhisdeath.Inthepoem,poetusedthecaptain“tosymbolizeLincolnandtheUnitedStatesofAmericaisrepresentedbythe“ship.Theleaderisbeingconceivedasthebravecaptainofashipwhofallsdeadonthedeckjustwhenthejourneyisoverandthevictoryiswon.Whitmandeliversthemessagetothecaptainanddeclaresthattheirfearfulanddangeroustripisdone.TheshiphasexperiencedsevereobstaclessuchastheCivilWar.FinallyundertheleadofAbrahamLincoln,theunionswonthewarandabolishedtheslavery.Wheneverythingisover,thereispeace.However,thecaptainwasdeadatthesea,sothespeakerfeltbittersweetaboutthevictory.MyunderstandingThewholepoemcontainsthreestanzas,toexpressthepoet’sloveanddeepmourningforPresidentLincolngradually,andtheemotionofthepoetwasmoreandmorestrong.Inthepoem,theUnitedStatesissymbolizedbyashipandLincolnbyacaptain,themilitarywarbetweenfederalgovernmentandthesouthernrebelsledbyLincolnwasdescribedasaspentalltherisksanddifficultvoyage.Herewiththesymbolism,thereaderscannothelpimaginingthathowthecaptainLincolnledthefederalgovernmenttowinthecivilwar,afteraviolentbattle.Inviewofthis,thepoetadmiredtheLincoln’sachievementsandexpressedhisofloveforhim.Thepoembeginswithanimageofashipreturningsafelytotheport.Thepoetimaginesanarratorwhohasaccompaniedcaptainallthetime.Cryingforhiscaptain,thenarratorrealizesthatthecaptainhasdiedatthesea.Theonlookersonshorecelebratetheship'ssafereturn,butthenarratormournsthedeathofhiscaptain.Asthevoyageends,sodoesthecaptain'slife.InOCaptain!MyCaptain!thereistherepresentationofawiderangeofemotionsfromjoytosorrow.Thepoembeginswiththenarratorfeelingoverjoyedbecausethefearfultripisdone.Thewordslikeprize,won,bellsandpeopleallexultinggivethereaderafeelingofexcitementandaccomplishment.Soon,themoodshiftedfromenthusiasmtosorrowoncethenarratorrealizesthattheCaptainisdead.Thewordssuchaspaleandstill,nopulsenorwill”generallyhavethefeelingofsorrow.Readthewholepoem,wecanfindthatthefirstlineofeachofthethreestanzasbeginswithcaptain,andthestanzaendswithfallencoldanddead”.Thepurposeofthepoetbeginningwithcaptainistoremindthereaderthatthefocusremainsonthecaptainandnothingelse,whilethepurposeofplacingfallencoldanddead”attheendisto,atfirst,toinformthereaderofwhatistocome,whilelateritspurposeistosimplytoremindthereaderofthetragedy.Thewritingdevices◆Metaphor:Inthepoem,Lincolnwascomparedasthecaptainandisthemainmetaphor.ThiscanremindusthatLincoln,astheleader,madehisbesttowinthewarandabolishtheslavery,whichgaveusanimpressionofagreatestpresident.Inthesecondstanza,poetreferredLincolnasmydearfathertoshowhisintenseadmirationforhim.Ontheotherhand,thepoetcomparedLincolnwithGeorgeWashington,fatherofAmerica,whogavebirthtoAmerica,whileLincolngaverebirthtothestate.Thisalsodescribesapresidenttous,whoisclosewithhissoldersandnations.◆Repetition:Inthefirststanza,thepoetread,Oheart!Heart!Heart!Wecanunderstandthesorrowofthenarratorwhenherealizedthatthecaptainhasdeadonthesea.Inthesecondstanza,thepoetusemoreimaginestodescribepeople’swelcometothecaptain.Byusingrepetition,thepoetshowedusagrandceremonytothevictory,then,poetturnedtoreferthedeathofthecaptain.Withtheobviouscomparisons,Whitemanexpressedhisdeepmourningforthecaptain.◆Symbolism:Inthewholepoem,thepoetuseshiptosymbolizetheUS,andthecaptaintoLincoln.Hecomparedthecivilwarasafearfulvoyagetoshowusthefierceofthewar,whichcanembodythepresident’ssignificantachievements.Thewordrackcanexplaintheobstaclesfacedbythefederalgovernment.Thewords“flag,bouquetsandribbons”symbolizethevictoryandreunionofthecountry.Theusageofsymbolismshowusanimagethatashipreturningsafelytotheport,ononeside,thesailorandsoldershaveheardthewelcomeandtrills,however,ontheship,thecaptainwasdead.Allaboverenderingasorrowfulatmosphere,whichexpressestheoutpouringgriefforthepresident?Reference罗良功：《英诗概论》徐志敏：《啊！船长！我的船长！》美学价值浅析杨传伟：《美国诗歌选读》