Symbolism of Whitman’s Poem “O Captain！ My Captain！”

呂春佳

【Abstract】“O Captain！My Captain！” is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman about the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. The poem is popular among American people. Many symbolisms can be seen that is to express Whitmans deep sorrow for the death of Abraham Lincoln.

【Key words】Walt Whitman； symbol； Abraham Lincoln； Civil War

1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction of Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was an extraordinary American poet， essayist and journalist. As a humanist， he was an important part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism in America， incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is often called the father of free verse. In the area of poetic form， Whitman made his great contributions. Through him， American poets finally freed themselves from the old English traditions. He advocated a completely new and completely American form of poetic expression.

1.2 Background of “O Captain！ My Captain！”

Civil War is a war between the south and north in America. At first， the purpose of the war is to unite the country. However， it changed into a revolutionary war for the freedom of the slaves in the end.

Lincoln was assassinated on April 14 1865， only five days after the declaration of the triumphant close of the Civil War. Whitman created the poem to express his deep sorrow for Lincolns death. Whats more， he shows great respect for Lincoln.

2. Symbolisms

In the poem， Whitman employed lots of symbolisms to hint Lincoln， America and Civil War. Only by knowing all the symbolisms， can we understand the poem well and know the deep sorrow and respect for Lincoln.

Line1：“Captain” symbolizes Lincoln， who is the great president of America.“trip”：“The trip symbolizes the American Civil War which broke out in 1861.”Line2：“ship”： “The ship has experienced the great hardships and suffering and finally has successfully come through all the storms and trials.”The ship represents America， which has bravely gone through the Civil War and finally won. “rack”： symbolizes the obstacles faced by the federal government. “prize”： “The prize refers to the victory of the North， the abolition of the Negro slavery system and the union of the nation.”

Above all， they are all the symbols in the first stanza. From these words “Captain， trip， ship， rack， prize”， we can know the background of the poem. America has gone through the Civil War and won. Lincoln has fallen cold and dead. This is no doubt referencing the assassination of Lincoln and Whitman's sorrow for the death of his idol.

Line 10： “flag” and in line 11： “bouquets and ribbon” are all mean the victory and reunion of America. Line 13： “father”. Lincoln made his best to win the war and abolish the slavery， which gave us an impression of a greatest president. Poet referred Lincoln as my dear father to show his intense admiration for him. On the other hand， the poet compared Lincoln with George Washington， father of America， who gave birth to America， while Lincoln gave rebirth to the state. This also describes a president to us， who is close with his soldiers and nations.

In the second stanza， these sentences and words “flag， bouquets and ribbon， father” mean that everyone is celebrating what Lincoln accomplished； the abolition of slavery and the unification of the people after a fearful war. However， the poet does not wish to acknowledge the death of his beloved Captain. And he even asks if it is some dream that the Captain has fallen cold and dead.

Line19： “its voyage closed and done” is similar to “our fearful trip” in line1， which tells us that the Civil War broke out in 1861 has gone through， and the United States of America has won. People got freedom and the slavery was abolished in the end.

In line 17， the poet calls out “My Captain，” and in line 18， the poet refers to the Captain as “My father”. This is referring to Lincoln as the father of the USA. Lines 19 and 20 are concluding statements that summarize the entire poem. America is “anchor'd safe and sound”. It is safe now from war with “its voyage closed and done，” and “comes in with object won”.

3. Conclusion

“O Captain！My Captain” is a great poem written by Walt Whitman. This poem is an elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln. “The poet does not express his feelings directly but uses symbols to achieve the goal.”With the abundant use of symbols， we can understand the poem better and we can feel poet's great love for his beloved president， Abraham Lincoln.

Reference：

[1]Jiang Tao，Reading and Understanding American Poetry[M].黑龍江人民出版社，2004：124.

[2]曾艾玲.Stylistic Analysis of Whitman's Poem O Captain！ My Captain！[J].海外英語，2011.