Study the following poem and answer the question that follows. Post your response as comment.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Which of the three approaches discussed in class would be most helpful to the critic trying to make sense of the above poem (Traditional, Historical, Biographical? Justify your choice/s.
[NOTE: Please indicate your name and your partner's name at the end of your comment/response. This assignment is worth 20 points.]
for us, we think that this work of literature must be criticized by the critic using the historical approach. based from our point of view and as well as the research we did, which says that historical approach "seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it-a context that necessarily includes the artist's biography and milieu." A key goal for historical critics is to understand the effect of a literary work upon its original readers. " (http://www.charlesyoungs.com/english12honors/criticalapproachestoliterature.html), and we learned that the author of this poem has been greatly affected by lincoln's death...
ReplyDeleteso we came up with the idea that this poem talks about a country losing a great leader. :)))
peace on earth.. :)
GENESIS CABILES and OLIVYL JOY BALANGUE BEEN3
Our initial response to this literary piece was that it evoked in us a sense of immense loss. After we researched what this poem is all bout, we were able to deduce that the best approach to use in analyzing this poem is historicism. Walt Whitman wrote this in memory of his hero, Abraham Lincoln. He is one of the greatest presidents of America. He led the country during the American Civil War, and he also managed to end the slavery of colored people. In this poem, the Captain here is Abe Lincoln and the "victor ship" is America (or rather the part of America that Lincoln led in the Civil War). What strikes us the most about this poem is the fact that it made us feel lugubrious and at the same time, cheerful and proud of the Captain. We believe this is what Walt Whitman intended to do - to convey his love for, and the greatness of Abe Lincoln, while at the same time grieving for his loss. Not just for himself, but the entire American nation. Works of literature like these are what ensure a person's immortality - Abraham Lincoln may be long dead, but his actions, all that he did for America and her people, will be remembered forever. Good job Walt Whitman. =) Incidentally, in the movie "Dead Poet's Society", they used and referred to this poem, and to some extent, even helped in the development of the story. =)
ReplyDeleteYAW MANG and AJ PAREL BEEN III
This poem remains muted unless viewed through the lens of historical context. Critics can use Historical Approach to better understand a piece of literary work by investigating the social, cultural and intellectual context that produced it. This necessarily includes the author's biography, milieu and points of view.
ReplyDelete"O Captain! My Captain!" of Walt Whitman is a poem rich in allusions and metaphors. The Captain is Abraham Lincoln, the ship is the United States of America and the fearful trip is the Civil War. This was written
shortly after the assassination of President Lincoln to express in poetry his own grief as well as the nation's sadness felt over the President's death.
The commitment shown by Whitman to Lincoln and his country supports a major theme of the poem, whcih is loyalty. The speaker, who most believed to be Whitman himself, shows so much commitment to Abraham Lincoln, commonly referring to him as “my Captain” and even “my father”. This poem shows such fierce loyalty to the captain.
The themes loyalty, coming of age, and death directly support the idea that with the death of Lincoln, his great ideas and achievements were gone as well, and America was falling into a state of confusion and uncertainty.
Personally, this poem is tragic because it describes the death of a great personality. The “prize we sought is won” is the victory that the union achieved in the civil war and it is very saddening that comes right after it is the death of Abe Lincoln. Walt Whitman looked up to Abe Lincoln and this poem he wrote as an ellegy to his fallen hero.
Basically, this poem talks about how the war is over and everyone is celebrating, but Lincoln is dead. :[
This is such a very emotional poem but without knowledge about the different approaches in literary criticism, this poem would not have such an impact to the readers.
Bon Voyage, our captain!!!
Bilaysing Serrano
John Henry Delig
BEEN-3
the most helpful approach to critic the poem, "O Captain My Captain"
ReplyDeletewould most probably be the historical approach for it " relies heavily on the author and his world". We have researched the story behind of the poem and also the author himself on what was happening during the author's time. This poem was written by Walt Whitman after the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. He uses metaphors to describe the American civil war using "fearful trip" to describe it. Abraham Lincoln was the "captain" and the "ship" represents the USA. Whitman had a great admiration for Abraham Lincoln that his death affected Whitman the most, who memorialized the greatest president in America's history with the poem " O Captain My Captain".
Krsitine Monique Abao and Nadia Theresa Ciocon BEEN3
In behalf of the wailing souls, this was an expression of real and deep sorrow of someone's loss of a leader. Further, the poet itself was the one depicting the triumph they had come through together with his dear captain. The poem was all about the long journey of a captain; a journey that full of fearful moment that unleashed the courage of the one who lead. It pictures out how the captain fought for the sake of the lives of his wayfarers. There was the joy of triumph but it didn't last; the victor was dead.
ReplyDeleteAfter further research, we found out that truly, it was the author’s (Whalt Whitman) deep gratitude to his beloved leader (Abraham Lincoln). It was in his piece that he remembered the courage and the life that his leader manifested during the war. Thence, traditional historicism is the suited approach that would enlighten the desolate emotion expressed by Whitman. Traditional Historicism since it ‘knows a text, one needs to understand its insertion in a particular moment in time, as an expression of a writer influenced by his/her times. History consists in part of consistent world views that are reflected in art .’ Further, it ‘researches an author's biographical data, as well as historical works from the time in order to show how the text reflects its time: ideology, social, political, economic beliefs and trends.’
-Deon, Mharnelisa and Ponteras, Hanemar-
The poem is Whalt Whitman's tribute to Abraham Lincoln and is very much considered as an ode. The poet's grief is highlighted by the contrasting celebrations of victory and lamentations of death.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is an extended Metaphor. Abraham Lincoln is the "Captain who has fallen cold and dead" having been assassinated after the civil war. "The fearful trip" is the civil war. "The prize we sought" is the preservation of the union, which both Whitman and Lincoln felt was the supreme reason for fighting the war. And lastly, "the ship" is us.
Thus, the poem must be interpreted using the historical and biographical approach. The background of the poet must be taken into consideration as well as the historical context of the poem itself.
The poem is "placed in historical context-- explanation of its allusions and particular use of words..." ,which in this poem is the late President Abraham Lincoln, "but also the conventions of and expectations of the times", which was the civil war. And the poem is "analyzed for relevance to its author".
Limbaga, Angeline Marie S.
Tompong, Geena H.
BEEN3
Ahay Ms. H, I'm so NOT computer savvy hehe, this is my third attempt at submitting our assignment and therefore my third edition too... I hope we can get thru this time around :)
ReplyDeleteAfter having read the poem, the initial response is indeed to take the Traditional approach because of the regular rhyme, rhythmic pattern, and refrain. The first line of the first stanza begins with a metaphor upon which the rest of the poem builds on and is unified. The poem is refreshing in the sense that the reader can easily understand a seemingly short story. However, upon deeper analysis of Walt Whitman's poetic style and more experimental writings, we can see that he veered from his usual manner in O Captain.
It can be said that the entire poem may be Walt Whitman's ode to Abraham Lincoln. The United States was at the summit of victory when Lincoln was assassinated. He is popularly known as the Father of this country, having managed to deal with the Union's war. The Library of Congress’s database has on record as saying that “Whitman had lived in Washington for most of the war and was a great admirer of Lincoln, whom he felt embodied the American virtues of plain-spokenness, courage, and horse-sense”.
The first stanza of the poem starts out joyous with a boy proclaiming that the port is near and that victory has been attained. It seems that hope and jubilation embrace with their returning to port and that they are safe. In the second stanza, the reader can almost taste the sadness of finding the great captain of this great voyage to be dead. One can almost hear and feel the despair and disappointment of the speaker that the happy moment draws to a close when he approaches the captain to find him “fallen cold and dead”. And although there is a great description of throngs of people awaiting their arrival with festivities, the speaker is still deeply saddened by the demise of the great leader. Walt Whitman continues to describe the lifeless body and declares that “[the captain] does not answer, his lips are pale and still”. The boy's attention is being grabbed by the happiness of being back home and yet cannot leave his captain's side and so is torn between grief and excitement.
The 3 stanzas of the poem is enough to have the reader understand that Whitman is talking about Abraham Lincoln's assassination. The entire country's shock of this dastardly deed is overwhelming the victory over the Union's war. This is a Historical fact and therefore this literary piece should be studied from a Historical point-of-view. Whitman bares his deep sadness over the loss of Lincoln whom he alludes to as the Captain. The ship returning to port over jubilant cries can be seen as victory over the Union's messy campaign. And the boy could be Whitman's persona in the poem. As such, Whitman is in mourning over the loss of the Father of the United States. The poem does not say outright how the captain dies. This may be Whitman's way of allowing the reader to infer and refer to Lincoln's tragic death. In support of this train of thought, the Library of Congress has said “Lincoln’s death inspired Whitman to write one of his most memorable works—a simple, three-stanza poem of sorrow”.
Poem is interpreted according to different approaches and perception. Each person has its own idea and understanding about a literary text, but before anything else we tried to first look at the cultural background of a certain piece in order for us to fully understand and somehow relate to the said poem.
ReplyDeleteBased on the lesson we had taken up last meeting we came up to an idea that the critics can use Historical/Biographical approach or Historicism. Why do we say Historicism?
Its because of the extended metaphors used in the poem that somehow give us an idea that its all about the historical background of the poet that could denote the life he had experience with one he admired the most. Its all about his admiration to Abraham Lincoln who was just a dream figure before but it became possible in the person of the ex-president Lincoln.
Some of the extended he used are the captain who is Abraham Lincoln, the fearful trip which is the Civil War,the ship which represents the Union and the prize which is the preservation of the union.This poem really shows the sorrow and the tragedy of the civil and of course the death of the president, Abraham Lincoln. Despite of their victory the author was still in deep sorrow and grief because unfortunately the president whom he really sought after died.
Therefore, we strongly believe that in order for us to fully understand the meaning of the poem we must first look to the historical background of the poet.
Ma. Katrina Chen V. Niegos
Rizzy P. Barcelon.
BEEN3