When someone is reading the poem “O Captain, My Captain”, they might notice, as did I, that not only is the poem a romanticized poem about Abraham Lincoln, it also uses a variety of literary devices that enhance the poem’s meaning.
“O Captain, My Captain” uses a lot of repeating of words and phrases, and the repetition adds feeling and emphasizes certain feelings and happenings. The word “O” is repeated often: “O Captain”, “O heart”, “O the bleeding drops of red”. We use the exclamation “Oh!” when we don’t know what else to say. Most of the time we use it when we are surprised, however, in this case, “O” adds in the feeling that the author is sad, and perhaps a bit in despair. Besides the word “O”, there’s also the phrase “Fallen cold and dead”, which emphasizes the fact that the captain is dead.
Another literary device Walt Whitman uses in “O Captain, My Captain” is an extended metaphor. “O Captain, My Captain” is written about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, right after the Civil War. The captain in the poem is Abraham Lincoln, and the ship the captain is steering represents America. The ship’s journey would be the Civil War, and in “The prize we sought is won”, “The prize” represents the ending of the Civil War.
Besides the literary devices, the whole poem contains romancing. The poem gives the illusion that Abraham Lincoln ended the war himself. This is not true. Like any leader, Lincoln had people who gave him advice and helped him along the way. In the second stanza, the crowds are cheering for the captain’s return and the successful voyage. However, in real history, many people couldn't care less that Lincoln had been shot; he was not popular at the time, and had many enemies.
Altogether, the literary devices that “O Captain My Captain” uses create more meaning and depth to the poem. For me, the literary devices along with some of the romancing help me understand the poem better, and despite the poem’s sorrowful feeling, make the poem more enjoyable to read.
When you write about literature, you want to put your thoughts together in more meaningful, complete paragraphs. These seem to be quite short and almost too quick to the point. It reads as thought youa re in a hurry to finish the job of explaining what you had to explain (as cited in the author's note). Instead of running through this in such a way that feels forced, you should give yourself a voice that matches the purpose and write from a real perspective, a genuine perspective. This reads as required writing. If you would like to talk more about this criticism to go into more detail or ways to avoid this in the future, see me.
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