Elegy-Gibbs

"Oh Captain, My Captain"

Walt Whitman

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,

                                  Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—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;

                         Here Captain! dear father!

                            This arm beneath your head!

                               It is some dream that on the deck,

                                 You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

                         Exult O shores, and ring O bells!

                            But I with mournful tread,

                               Walk the deck my Captain lies,

                                  Fallen cold and dead.

In this classic example of an elegy, Walt Whitman honors the death of President Lincoln. The lamentation of his death is seen in the first stanza, with cries of despair such as "O heart! heart! heart!" and "Oh Captain! my Captain!". The grieving is the first step in an elegy. The second part of an elegy, praise and admiration of the fallen, is clear in the second stanza. Whitman speaks of crowds with "eager faces", all turning to him. Lincoln was an important enough figure to have entire crowds of people looking to him for guidance. He also mentions how the flag is flung for Lincoln, honoring his greatness. The third section of an elegy, a finding of solace, is found in the third stanza. Whitman describes the finality of Lincoln's death, but also includes the fact that he dies "with object won", presumably speaking of him winning the civil war. There is a comfort in the fact that he was so successful, despite his early death.