Analysis of O Captain! My Captain!
Walt Whitman 1819 (West Hills) – 1892 (Camden)
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
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,
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; 10
For you bouquets and ribbon'd 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 anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; 20
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Scheme | aabbxcdC edbbxcxc ffaaecdC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101101010111 011101001011111 011101110101010 110101010101010 11111 1010111 11011101 10101 110110110101 11110111110101 11010111101010 111101011101010 110110 110111 11111101 110101 1101110111101 11011111111111 01110101110101 11010101101101 01110111 111101 1011101 10101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,230 |
Words | 203 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 274 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 70 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 2,298 Views
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