Summary of Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman is a famous American poet.  He has written many poems on the theme of democracy.  O Captain!  My Captain is an elegy written on the death of Abraham Lincoln, the President of America.  In this poem, Whitman compares Lincoln as captain of a ship that returns after the American Civil war.

The poem opens with the poet addressing the captain, Abraham Lincoln, who is returning to the shore after winning the civil war.  The poet imagines that he is standing among the people on the shore waiting to celebrate the captain’s arrival and victory.  The ship has passed through all hardships and it is grim and daring.  In the deck of the ships, the captain is lying dead and cold.  The hearts of the people are bleeding with drops of red blood.

The poet asks the captain to rise up from death on hearing the bells and bugles.  He wants the captain to wake up and see the flag, bouquets, the wreaths and the shore that is crowded with people.  The people on the shore are waiting eagerly to look at the victorious captain.

The poet addresses the captain as his father and asks him to wake up from death.  It is more like a dream for him to see the captain cold and dead in the ship.  For all the cries and calls, the captain does not open his lips, which has become very pale.  There is no pulse in his arms and the father does not feel the poet’s touch.

The ship reaches the shore and is anchored safely.  The voyage ends with the people after a victorious journey for the sake of the people.  The ship stops after achieving its objectives.  These lines could also be taken metaphorically.  The ship’s voyage represents the life of Abraham Lincoln, which has come to a halt after the strenuous and victorious journey.  The poet and the crowd are at a loss.  They do not know how to respond to this situation.  They came to celebrate the victory of the war and their captain but the captain is dead.  The poet asks them to ring the bells and he walks to the deck to see the captain, who is cold and dead.

Though the poem is an elegy, Whitman uses many figures of speech like extended metaphor, transferred epithet, simile, etc. to convey his grief in an effective way.  The poet, through this poem, expresses his true love and affection of the people of America towards their president.