POETIC DEVICES
- Extended Metaphor. In O Captain My Captain, Whitman never mentions Lincoln’s name directly. ...
- Alliteration. O Captain My Captain uses alliteration in the following lines: Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills / The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, ...
- Imagery. ...
What is the allusion in O Captain my Captain?
Allusion is a reference to something that most readers will know about. In 'O Captain! My Captain,' the allusion is to Lincoln's recent assassination. The image of the bloody captain references the gunshot wound that killed Lincoln.
What is the repetition in O Captain my Captain?
It is the repetition of consonant sounds in the beginning (or, stressed syllables) of nearby words. The entire poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is built on an extended metaphor which compares the United States to a ship and its president Lincoln to its captain who guided the ship through difficult times.
What type of poem is O Captain my Captain?
“O Captain! My Captain!” as an Elegy: This poem is written in the form of an elegy meaning a funeral song. Whitman used very strong figurative language throughout the poem to express his respect and to mourn the loss of Abraham Lincoln. The expression of mourning and grief mark the center of the poem.
How is the poem my Captain allegorical?
My Captain!” Essay [Allegory, Allusion, Repetition] specifically for you Moreover, he extensively incorporates imagery (vivid language that evokes mental images or generates ideas) and rhyme (words having different sounds but with endings that sound alike) to make the poem more allegorical.
Is there any alliteration in O Captain My Captain?
In the poem “O Captain, My Captain!,” Walt Whitman uses a variety of figurative language, including internal rhyme, apostrophes, anaphora, alliteration, and repetition. He uses a quite a bit of alliteration and internal rhyme to keep a steady rhythm.
What are some examples of figurative language in O Captain My Captain?
The entire poem is an extended metaphor, or figurative language that implies comparison between seemingly unlike things, for the United States after the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's assassination. In the metaphor, the captain is Lincoln, the voyage is the war and the ship is the United States.
What is the allusion in O Captain My Captain?
In essence, the allusion in “O Captain! My Captain!” refers to Abraham Lincoln. Whitman wrote the poem in the year 1865, the same year that Lincoln died. Captain is an allusion to the president, Abraham Lincoln, while the 'ship' (Whitman 1) is an illusion to the United States.
What 3 metaphors are in O Captain My Captain?
O Captain! My Captain! Extended Metaphor“Ship”“vessel”“steady keel”
What literary device are used in the poem?
Literary Devices in Poems – Literary/Poetic device is a technique a writer uses to produce a special effect on their writing....See Video Explanation of Literary Devices in Poems.AlliterationMetaphorAntithesispersonificationAssonanceRefrainAsyndetonRhymeConsonanceRepetition6 more rows
What does the phrase fearful trip represent?
The "fearful trip" is the Civil War. The "ship" is the United States, and the "prize" is the preservation of the Union. The "port" is the peace that will follow the war. Examine lines 3-13.
What does weathered every rack mean?
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won; The speaker is shouting out to his captain (“O Captain!”) that they've finally made it home after a frightening trip. They were on a ship that survived, or “weathered,” strong winds (a.k.a. “racks”).
What is the rhyme scheme in O Captain My Captain?
Rhyme Scheme - aabb xcxc - the opening couplets of the first two stanzas establish a happy mood, which juxtaposed with the shortened succeeding lines, brings out the disappointment experienced by the poet over the captain's death.
Extended Metaphor
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Alliteration
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Epistrophe
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Apostrophe
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Caesura
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Anaphora
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End-Stopped Line
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Apostrophe
The apostrophe is a literary device that refers to a call by an individual to someone who is dead or not present there or an inanimate object.
Extended Metaphor
The extended metaphor refers to a metaphor that has been used by the author in a series of sentences of prose, or lines in the poems. The author takes a single metaphor and applies it at length using different images, ideas, thoughts and subjects.
Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds /f/ in the phrase ‘flag is flung’ and /s/ in the phrase ‘safe and sound’.
Imagery
Images like ‘ the bleeding drops of red ’, ‘ lips are pale and still ’, ‘ fallen cold and dead’ are some examples of Whitman creating visual imagery which directly strikes the reader’s mind.
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is a literary device to create a sharp contrast between two things side by side for the reader to compare. Here in the poem, Whitman has made a stark contrast between the cheerfulness and mourning in the last stanza when the speaker says ‘ exult O shores ’ ‘ but I with mournful tread ’.
In Short
Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” is an extended metaphor mourning the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 at the close of the American Civil War.
O Captain! My Captain! Explanation
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
O Captain! My Captain! – Into Details
Walt Whitman is regarded as one of America’s most significant 19 th century poets. He wrote the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” in 1865 after the death of Abraham Lincoln, the former American President. The poem is the poet’s tribute to Abraham Lincoln for his role in the American Civil War.
O Captain! My Captain! – Themes
As you already know, Whitman’s poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is an elegy, mourning the death of President Abraham Lincoln at the end of the American Civil War. Through this poem the poet pays a homage to his admired leader and it gives an expression to the nation’s collective grief after the President’s death.
O Captain! My Captain! – Symbols
The poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is an extended metaphor where the ship is the United States itself. Abraham Lincoln guided the nation’s ship as a captain through many storms in the Civil War. But the captain died when the ship returned home safely after accomplishing its mission, i.e., when the war ended and the Union emerged victorious.
O Captain! My Captain! – Literary Devices
An end-stopped line is a line of verse that ends with a punctuation. All 24 lines in this poem are end-stopped lines.
O Captain! My Captain! Meaning
The title of the poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ refers to Abraham Lincoln as a captain of the ship. Here, the “ship” is a symbol of the civil war fought for liberating the slaves. According to the poet, the ship is sailing nearer to the shore, meaning the war is about to end. They have achieved their coveted goal.
Structure
The poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ consists of 3 stanzas in totality having 2 quatrains in each. A quatrain is a stanza consisting of four lines. Besides, this poem is an elegy. An elegy is known as a mourning poem. Apart from that, Whitman uses the free verse form while writing this poem. For this reason, the lines of the poem do not rhyme at all.
Literary Devices
Most of Walt Whitman’s poems use repetition and rhythm for rendering a spellbinding poetic beauty. He uses anaphora constantly as several verses begin with the same word/ phrase. For instance ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomers’ uses ‘when’ 4 times to render a lyrical sound.
Themes
Whitman emphasizes the importance of self in the majority of his poems, ranging from ‘I Hear America Singing’ to others, he prizes the American populace to believe in themselves. More so, he even uses symbolical allusions to drive home a point. He may use inanimate objects for that end.
Similar Poetry
The following poems are similar to the themes and subject matter of Whitman’s lyric, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’.
Definition of Figurative Language
Figurative language is an umbrella term to describe many different techniques that bring flavor and life to writing. Without it, poetry would be nearly impossible. Many different literary devices make up figurative language.
Definition of a Metaphor
Metaphor is a figurative language that implies comparison between seemingly unlike things. The entire text of 'O Captain! My Captain!' functions as an extended metaphor to honor his subject, Abraham Lincoln. The poem is an ode to the president written after his assassination. Let's break down the metaphor to its main parts.
Definition of Imagery
Imagery is another type of figurative language. Any time a poet uses language that appeals to the reader's senses, he or she is using imagery. Whitman uses it to great effect in this poem.
Definition of the Apostrophe
Whitman begins his poem with an apostrophe when he writes, 'O Captain! My Captain!' Apostrophe is another facet of figurative language. It involves a writer addressing a dead or absent person, an inanimate object, or an idea. In this case, the poet speaks directly to the deceased captain.
Summary of “O Captain! My Captain!”
- Popularity: “O Captain! My Captain!” a renowned poem written by Walt Whitman, was one of the 18 poems written with the background of the Civil War in America. It was first published in 1865 in a pamphlet namedSequel to Drum-Taps.This poem, having historical value, was written as a tribut…
Analysis of Poetic Devices in “O Captain My Captain”
- Although most of the poetic devices share the same qualities with literary devices, there are some which can only be used in the poetry. The analysis of some of the poetic devices is given below. 1. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. In this poem, there are three stanzas with each stanza having eight verses. 2. Double Quatrain: Quatrain refers to four line stanza whereas Doub…
Quotations For Usage from “O Captain! My Captain!”
- These lines can be used to celebrate the victory to congratulate a captain, leader, or group leader to pay tributes for his leadership qualities.
Apostrophe
- The apostrophe is a literary device that refers to a call by an individual to someone who is dead or not present there or an inanimate object. In the first stanza, you would have observed the phrase ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ is a call by the speaker to the Captain of the ship who is on the deck, probably out of sight of the speaker or far away from ...
Extended Metaphor
- The extended metaphor refers to a metaphor that has been used by the author in a series of sentences of prose, or lines in the poems. The author takes a single metaphor and applies it at length using different images, ideas, thoughts and subjects. The poem reflects the following extended metaphors – The ‘Ship’ is the United States, the ‘Captain’ is Abraham Lincoln, the Presi…
Alliteration
- Repetition of consonant sounds /f/ in the phrase ‘flag is flung’ and /s/ in the phrase ‘safe and sound’. Consonance:You will also observe the repetition of /g/ sound in the above-mentioned phrase. Such kind of repetition of consonant sounds is called Consonance. Assonance:You would also observe the repetition of the vowel sound in the /i/ in the words ‘trip’ and ‘ship’ in the first an…
Imagery
- Images like ‘the bleeding drops of red’, ‘lips are pale and still’, ‘fallen cold and dead’ are some examples of Whitman creating visual imagery which directly strikes the reader’s mind.
Juxtaposition
- Juxtaposition is a literary device to create a sharp contrast between two things side by side for the reader to compare. Here in the poem, Whitman has made a stark contrast between the cheerfulness and mourning in the last stanza when the speaker says ‘exult O shores’ ‘but I with mournful tread’.