19 pages • 38 minutes read
Walt WhitmanO Captain! My Captain!
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1865A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Captain
The symbol of the captain is a popular one, and poets often use it throughout history. Because sailing has been a staple of humanity in most cultures, people have consistently seen the leadership of a crew on a ship as honorable and something to revere. A captain is a leader and someone who holds the lives of the crew in their hands. Additionally, a captain is responsible for the ship itself, so the captain must possess great moral character, dedication, fearlessness, and bravery. Lincoln enjoyed all these characteristics and his leadership throughout the Civil War resulted in historians viewing him as one of the greatest leaders in human history.
Whitman sees Lincoln as the ideal leader, which makes his loss that much more heartbreaking. When a crew loses a great captain, the crew is left feeling directionless, but Whitman is sure to remind the reader that this captain did all he could to save his ship before he died.
The Ship
In a general sense, the ship can represent any sort of group of people or movement. However, in a specific sense, the ship in the poem represents America. Just as a ship embarks on a dangerous and uncertain journey, America entered the Civil War that had the potential to destroy the country. Yet, “[f]rom fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won” (Line 20). Lincoln successfully guided the ship to port, and now the ship “is anchor’d safe and sound” (Line 21). America succeeded in its dangerous journey, and there is time to celebrate its arrival to shore.
Religious Imagery
Lincoln as the captain and father echoes imagery and ideals about the Christian God and Jesus Christ. Lincoln’s sacrifice for the greater good also echoes the imagery of the saints in the Roman Catholic Church. The poem immortalizes Lincoln as a larger-than-life figure who gave everything in service of others.
It is typical in America for founding fathers and other popular political figures to become sanctified in the minds of many Americans. “O Captain!” leans into this tendency, fully embracing the idea that Lincoln entered mythological status as a quasi-religious figure.
Finally, the juxtaposition of celebration and mourning of death mimics the feelings associated with Jesus Christ’s death. While Christ’s disciples and followers mourned his death, it brought about a renewed life and the necessary sacrifice for humans to enter heaven. In this sense, Christians celebrate the death of Jesus as something that ultimately benefits them; at the same time, a Christian can still mourn the loss that came because of the sacrifice. In the same way, Lincoln’s sacrifice brings about the end of the pain of war while also inspiring feelings of grief and depression in those who loved him.
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By Walt Whitman
