The Underlying Themes of Walt Whitman’s
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” and “O Captain! My Captain!” Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is a well-known American Poet and the author of one of the most famous books of poetry ever written called Leaves of Grass. When reviewing Whitman’s work in “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” and “O Captain! My Captain!”, one can see the sheer essence of a brilliant poet. The use of irony and free verse in Whitman’s “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” is only secondary to his use of classical verse in “O Captain! My Captain!”. Whitman is attempting to express the new idea of freedom in America. His work is easily read and understood by the common man. Whitman’s point of view of freedom and simplicity come across in his work as if you are riding on the front of the Titanic with the wind blowing gently on your face. An article found in the Academy of American Poets describes briefly the life of poet Walt Whitman, who was born and …show more content…
My Captain!” (1865) is a three-stanza poem. It contains multiple metaphors allowing us to visualize the poems full meaning. The main intricate metaphor is comparing the President to a “Captain” of a ship. This poem is an elegy used to create the desperation and gloom surrounding the death of a President. A President by the name of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman loved and admired. This is evidenced by the use of the words “My father” in stanza three. Whitman builds stanza upon stanza to pull out the emotion from the reader. He begins by building you up with excitement and joy “the prize we sought is won” and then he lets your emotions fall, “Fallen cold and dead”. This is an extraordinary classical piece of work. “O Captain! My Captain!” has no fixed meter, but contains a rhythm of four long lines followed by four short lines. He uses repetition throughout this poem as with “But O heart! heart! heart!” and “fallen cold and dead” which is repeated three
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” and “O Captain! My Captain!” Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is a well-known American Poet and the author of one of the most famous books of poetry ever written called Leaves of Grass. When reviewing Whitman’s work in “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” and “O Captain! My Captain!”, one can see the sheer essence of a brilliant poet. The use of irony and free verse in Whitman’s “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” is only secondary to his use of classical verse in “O Captain! My Captain!”. Whitman is attempting to express the new idea of freedom in America. His work is easily read and understood by the common man. Whitman’s point of view of freedom and simplicity come across in his work as if you are riding on the front of the Titanic with the wind blowing gently on your face. An article found in the Academy of American Poets describes briefly the life of poet Walt Whitman, who was born and …show more content…
My Captain!” (1865) is a three-stanza poem. It contains multiple metaphors allowing us to visualize the poems full meaning. The main intricate metaphor is comparing the President to a “Captain” of a ship. This poem is an elegy used to create the desperation and gloom surrounding the death of a President. A President by the name of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman loved and admired. This is evidenced by the use of the words “My father” in stanza three. Whitman builds stanza upon stanza to pull out the emotion from the reader. He begins by building you up with excitement and joy “the prize we sought is won” and then he lets your emotions fall, “Fallen cold and dead”. This is an extraordinary classical piece of work. “O Captain! My Captain!” has no fixed meter, but contains a rhythm of four long lines followed by four short lines. He uses repetition throughout this poem as with “But O heart! heart! heart!” and “fallen cold and dead” which is repeated three