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

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. more…

All Walt Whitman poems | Walt Whitman Books

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