I love this poem; Walt Whitman’s 1865 eulogy to Abraham Lincoln. Whitman lived through the American Civil War, and being so close to the founding of the country knew many people who were part of the revolution.The main political and social issues during his time were slavery and rights for African Americans. He admired Abraham Lincoln immensely, sharing his commitment to the Union and his opposition to slavery.
Robin Williams makes repeated references to the poem in the 1989 film DEAD POETS SOCIETY
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
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;
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;
Exult, O shores, and ring,
O bells! But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
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