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oh captain my captain
"O Captain! My Captain!" is a poem written by Walt Whitman in 1865. The poem is classified as an elegy because it is a mourning poem that was written in the memory of someone. The poem was written to honor Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Walt Whitman was born in 1819 and died in 1892, so he lived through the American Civil War. Being born close to the founding of the country, he knew people that were a part of the American Revolution. Through this he experienced the unification and division of the United States. Walt Whitman was extremely patriotic and wrote many poems about the prominence of America. He also wrote poems about urging people to fight for what is right.
The poem was known as one of the greatest poems written at the time of the Civil War.
The main political and social issue during Whitman's time was slavery and the rights of African Americans. Whitman was self-described as the poet of America and, during the Civil War, the Union. Whitman wanted to see the end of slavery; this was his hope for America. However, it broke his heart to see the nation fighting. He admired Abraham Lincoln immensely because of his political standpoint of universal equality as stated in the constitution.
The captain in the poem refers to Abraham Lincoln who is the captain of the ship; this represents the United States of America. The first line establishes a happy mood as it addresses the captain. The phrase "our fearful trip is done" is talking about the end of the Civil War. The next line references the ship, America, and how it has "weathered every rack", meaning America has braved the tough storm of the Civil War, and "the prize we sought", the end of slavery, "is won". The following line expresses a mood of jubilation of the Union winning the war as it says "the people all exulting"; however, the next line swiftly shifts the mood when it talks of the grimness of the ship, and the darker side of the war. Many lost their lives in the American
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