Okay, so this poem is not exactly an ode and more of an elegy dedicated towards the 16th American president Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated on the 14th April 1865.
Here, I shall list the reasons why I believe Whitman referred to Lincoln as ‘O, Captain’…
The term ‘ captain’ commands respect, authority and last of all leadership – qualities of which Whitman surely admired about Lincoln. ‘O, Captain! My Captain’ was an allegorical response and referencing the tragic assassination of the 16th president. Whitman was trying to allude that, now Lincoln – the captain has fallen, so too does the ship he commands. Here, Whitman is trying to imply that the assassination of Abraham Lincoln could possibly attribute to the fall of America itself.
I believe, that Whitman chose to associate the role of the ‘Captain’ with Lincoln resulted from his political campaign to win the American Civil War against the Confederate states. The literary techniques of both metaphors and allegories are repetitively used throughout this poem are used to create a heightened sense of emotional intensity and vulnerability to emphasise the drastic effect of the assassination.
‘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’
This shows that Lincoln’s war against the Confederate states achieved the result of a victorious win. Promoting a sea-change with the American political and social atmosphere. Ah yes, I see what you did there Whitman….
His ‘crew’ experience quite a bit of overwrought emotions as a result of his abrupt, unfortunate and untimely death. His death does inspire his ‘crew’ to strive for the change that Lincoln was envisioning for American during the aftermath of the Civil War.
‘Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies‘
Analysing this poem, I found that Lincoln’s death really did take quite a deep toll on Whitman himself. Writing this poem allowed him to demonstrate both his admiration and affection towards the late president. After all, Whitman felt the need to honour Lincoln in a way that preserved his legacy to command the utmost respect by awarding him title ‘Captain’ thus providing the late president with a great service.
Reading with Jen 
Jenny, I commend you on your explanation about Whitman and Lincoln. I think you justified your reasons exceptionally well! just your use of diction at times I would say, try not to repeat words overly; nevertheless, I thoroughly liked reading your blog!
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Jen,
I really enjoyed reading this post.I think you make a big claim in suggesting Whitman was implying the assassination of Lincoln could lead to the fall of America itself…but I like it! I think that is an interesting reading that I wouldn’t say I picked up on personally, but I can certainly appreciate your view and its potential validity. I certainly agree that repetition is utilized often throughout the poem to convey emotion and intensity. Just a couple of small corrections:
1. I believe where you used a hyphen, “…now Lincoln – the captain” needs another hyphen after captain to close the initial one and create a structured sentence.
2. “His ‘crew’ experience quite a bit of overwrought emotions…” could be improved with a more grammatically correct option – perhaps have experienced emotional turmoil for example.
Overall, some good ideas presented and inferences made about Whitman and this poem. Well done.
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This is a fabulous entry Jenny: well written and, above all, really interesting! I can see you have stirred up much interest with your peers. Well done!
*Please attend to editing your work carefully. Here is what I have picked up:
*qualities of which Whitman surely admired = qualities which Whitman surely adm
ired
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