Elegy- Hans Stromberg

O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman, 1819 - 1892

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.

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/o-captain-my-captain

This elegy written by Walt Whitman encompasses the three elements of an elegy:
lament, praise, and then consolation. The first element is lamenting, which is
seen clearly through the repetition of "Fallen cold and dead". This
repeated praise clearly shows the grief that the crew member feels towards the
loss of his captain. He goes as far to say that the captain is his father,
deepening the connection between the narrator and the captain. Walt Whitman
shows that the crew member is in utter disbelief “It is some dream” that the
captain is dead. The next element in the elegy is praise. This praise is shown by
the adoring people watching the boat com into dock. “For you bouquets and
ribbon’d wreaths- for you the shores a-crowding.” After a long journey out at
sea the crew is finally home and the people wish to praise the captain with
gifts showing that the captain was an important person in the community and
will be missed after his death. The fact that people come to the shores to see
the captain and his crew return home show that the captain is praised. The
third element us consolation and solace. The narrator shows this consolation by
saying, “From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won.” showing
that there is some positives coming from the voyage. By ending with “But I mournful
tread, Walk the deck my captain lies, fallen cold and dead.” the elegy
completes by emphasizing the remorse and sorrow felt for the captain’s death.