Journal fav Whitman Poem

My favorite Walt Whitman poem is definitely "O Captain, My Captain" because it makes so much sense to me and I love history. The whole story about the death of Abraham Lincoln and making him the captain of the ship and having all these loyal crew members mourn the death of their leader but celebrate all the things he accomplished. They talk highly of their leader and that is something I think is important no matter what Lincoln decided these men were willing to follow him to the end. "O Captain, My Captain" is the first big poem we studied as kids and it made so much then and now every time I read it I pick up on different things and new ways to interrupt it than just the story of the President Lincoln's death, but also the end of war and the coming together of the nation. Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents and this is why we study him and Walt Whitman wrote some of great poetry some of it not appropriate for school but what we do study is important. "O Captain! My Captain!" contains some great lines of poetry that express the feeling of a nation both in celebration and also in mourning. The African Americans were still slaves before Lincoln took control and we can even interrupt that Lincoln is the Messiah and leads the slaves to freedom and this makes him an American hero. I like when poetry has a story and is not just a bunch of feeling but it is also important that the story has feeling and makes the reader enjoy the story. "O Captain My Captain" contains this feeling of the country and it tells a story straight forward at first but then if you read it again you could pick up a different story line about it. This is why my favorite poem from Walt Whitman is "O Captain My Captain".

"O Captain! My Captain!, by Walt Whitman." Poetry Archive. Web. 17 April. 2012.