美國(guó)文學(xué)-o-captain--my-caption

1、Symbolism in O Captain! My Captian!-Based on “captain”& “ship” 英師1212 湯文飛 1220302223I. A brief introduction of O Captain! My Captian!Walt Whitman, a well-known poet in 19th century, wrote this poem after the death of President Lincoln. Of all the poems written by Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!

2、is a unique one for its form and style. It consists of 3 stanzas, including 24 lines, which shows the theme of the poem by progressive layers of expression. Metaphors, repetition, apostrophe and symbolism are used in this poem. The analysis of this poem in this essay would focus on the use of symbol

3、ism, especially from the point of the two main objects, the “captain” and the “ship”. II. Symbols in O Captain! My Captain1. CaptainThe analysis of symbols would start from the word “captain” because it has mentioned in the title already.1.1 Role characteristics of captain as a professionA captain i

4、s a leader, a guide, a keeper and a guardian of the whole ship, trusted by his people. He is the man who manages the whole ship, and might be regarded and expected as a highly responsible man of great wisdom and bravery. He is supposed to keep order and take all the potential risks. Faced with dange

5、r, he will make it to the end in hope of saving all his people. 1.2 Speakers attitudes towards “captain” in this poemIt can be easily found that the speaker in this poem highly respects the captain.The poem opens with an apostrophe to the captain, indicat

6、ing a personal connection here. The repetition of “heart” in line 5 emphasizes the speakers grief at the death of his captain. “Fallen cold and dead” is repeated 3 times to show his pain and sorrow. The speaker also calls the captain “dear father”. Ones father must be the most worshipful m

7、an for him in the world. There is only the respect but also love and bond between the speaker and his captain. The bond between them is so deep that the speaker can only regard captain as his father to express his feelings. 1.3 Symbolic meaning of “captain” This poem is considered as an elegy for Am

8、ericans great president, because it was published at a specific time, when everyone knew exactly what had happen to Lincoln.The description of captain is solemn. The great captain “l(fā)ies on the deck”, “cold and dead”, while his people are exulting because of their triumph. He is “bleed

9、ing red drops”, with his “arms beneath his head”. He died, on his devoted post, before his people. He brought his people brightness, with himself left in endless darkness.The captain lies on the deck while others are celebrating. The place he died weighs a lot. Its not like the captain died in his b

10、edroom or jumped into the sea like Rose and Jack. He died at his post, as Lincoln was gunned down while he was still the president. This is tragic. 1.4 Background information & Whitmans emotional expression Abraham Lincoln, the “captain” to whom Whitman refers, was

11、a man Whitman deeply admired And Lincoln did not disappoint his admirer and gained stature as Lincolns presidency progressed and as the North won the Civil War, preserving the union. Lincoln was a respected captain, especially a dedicated leader who guided the “ship” in a right way. It was Lincolns

12、death that affected Whitman the most and trapped him in the grief. The poets only wish at the time might be that Lincoln could wake up, standing and looking at his people. It would be the most heartbroken thing in the world to see ones hero die. But, to describe the death of ones hero might be more

13、painful and bitter. In honor of his great hero, the poet decided to write something to express his grief and tribute. However, recalling and imagining word be a second harm to Whitman. Although I dont know how he wrote this poem, Im sure that it was a great suffering to write the death of his hero.

14、2. Ship2.1 Symbolic meaning of “ship”The word “ship” appears first in line 2, “the ship has weatherd every rack, the prize we sought is won”. Considering the symbolic meaning of “captain”, we can assume that “ship”, which is controlled or managed by the “captain” , symbolizes the country -United Sta

15、tes. The word “ship” appears 3 times, along with other expressions like “keel” and “deck”, which have the hided meaning as ship. And the “steady keel” indicates that the ship, like United States, remains steadfast despite its rough voyage. 2.2 Connections between “ship” and United StatesA ship is do

16、omed to face all the potential dangers. It must fight in a lone battle because no one can help in the dangerous sea. The only way for people to make it is to unite as one. The ship stands for the nation as it moved through the difficult times of Civil War, which refers to “our fearful trip” in the f

17、irst line.A nation is like a ship because it is fragile and changing. Both of them need a man to take responsible. Lincoln had the responsibility of guiding the country safely through those known and unknown dangers or risks.A ship is the home of people on it while United States is the home of its p

18、eople. Both of them provide people with a shelter, and are ready to protect them from those dangers.The ship came home safely as the nation won its war. Despite the past hardships, both the ship and United States are still afloat. 2.3 Other symbolic itemsThere also other symbols that express the the

19、me of this poem. Most of them are the used to emphasize the two main symbols, the “captain” and the “ship”. For instance, the “prize” is the preservation of the union. It is a prize won by the captain “Lincoln” after struggling with the “storm”. It is a prize won in a hard way and it is the best pra

20、ise and honor for the captain. Descriptions like “flag is flung”, “bugle trills” cast a shadow over the celebration of victory on the deck, which show a tragic contrast in the same place. The poets grief is accentuated by the contrasting celebrations of victory and lamentations of captains death. There was a small population who were happy to see the victory, with the dead captain left on the deck. Among the crowded, only the speaker was mourning. It indicates that the captain lied alone while others were celebrating. The contrast shows the poets deep grief to the captain in a mor